Efficacy and cost of ampicillin-sulbactam and ticarcillin-clavulanate in the treatment of hospitalized patients with bacterial infections.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and cost of treatment with two beta-lactam/beta-lactamase-inhibitor combinations.


METHODS
Retrospective, open-label multicenter study.


METHODS
Fifty-four hospitals across the United States.


METHODS
Eight hundred ninety patients with skin and soft tissue, intraabdominal, gynecologic, respiratory, urinary tract, or other infections that required parenteral antibiotic therapy.


METHODS
Patients were administered either ampicillin-sulbactam 1.5 or 3.0 g every 6 hours or ticarcillin-clavulanate 3.1 g every 6 hours.


RESULTS
The agents did not differ significantly in efficacy for most infections; although, ampicillin-sulbactam was bacteriologically superior to ticarcillin-clavulanate in the treatment of intraabdominal infections (p=0.0011). Costs of ampicillin-sulbactam, particularly the 1.5-g dose, were lower than those of ticarcillin-clavulanate for skin and soft tissue (p<0.001), intraabdominal (p=0.005), and respiratory tract (p<0.001) infections.


CONCLUSIONS
Ampicillin-sulbactam provides effective coverage for patients with the above infections and is as effective as the broader-spectrum agent.
McKinnon
P S
PS
Department of Pharmacy Services, Detroit Receiving Hospital and University Health Center, Michigan 48201, USA.
Neuhauser
M M
MM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000667:Ampicillin / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002969:Clavulanic Acids / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016527:Drug Costs; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013407:Sulbactam / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013982:Ticarcillin / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States
D002969:Clavulanic Acids; C035444:sultamicillin; D000667:Ampicillin; C043215:ticarcillin-clavulanic acid; D013982:Ticarcillin; D013407:Sulbactam