title: [Bacterial infections in cancer patients: what should we treat them with when the result of antibiogram is not yet known?].
abstract: Cancer patients are prone to bacterial infections, which frequently on account of severity require prompt administration of antibiotics--even before the result of antibiogram is known. 500 antibiograms obtained from cultures taken from 307 cancer patients treated in General Hospital no. 2, Bielsko-Biala during 1991-1995 were analyzed. Marked diversity in isolated bacterial strains was found, the dominant pathogens being Gram positive species (mainly Staphylococci and Streptococci, which constituted 46.2% of all isolated strains). The most frequent Gram negative species were Escherichia coli, Proteus spp., Klebsiella spp. and Enterobacter spp. Analysis of antibiotic efficiency suggests that cancer patients in case of infection should be treated empirically as follows: 1. Moderate infection--monotherapy with broad spectrum antibiotic, covering also Gram positive bacteria--such as ciprofloxacin . 2. Severe infection--combination therapy consisting of two antibiotics: one with activity against Gram positive bacteria such as cloxacillin, erythromycin, cefazolin, cephalexin, clindamycin--the other with activity against Gram negative bacteria, such as aminoglycoside (e.g., netilmicin, amikacin) or third generation cephalosporine (e.g., cefotaxime, ceftriaxone).
authors.affiliation: Oddziału Radioterapii Wojewódzkiego Szpitala Zespolonego w Bielsku-Białej.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pysz
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents