Clinical comparative study of sulbactam/ampicillin and imipenem/cilastatin in elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical usefulness of sulbactam/ampicillin therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly.


METHODS
A randomized prospective clinical study was conducted in the elderly patients with moderate-to-severe community-acquired bacterial pneumonia.


RESULTS
Overall clinical efficacy of sulbactam/ampicillin therapy (6 g/day) in these patients (efficacy rate: 91.4%) was comparable to that of imipenem/cilastatin therapy (1 g/day; efficacy rate: 87.5%), when each therapy was administered intravenously twice daily for 7-14 days. With regard to clinical efficacy based on disease severity, bacteriological efficacy, improvement of chest X-ray findings and adverse reactions, the two therapies were comparable.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that sulbactam/ampicillin therapy has excellent efficacy and tolerability and that it may be highly effective, even in severe cases of pneumonia. This regimen may thus serve as first-line treatment for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in elderly patients.
Yanagihara
Katsunori
K
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
Fukuda
Yuichi
Y
Seki
Masafumi
M
Izumikawa
Koichi
K
Higashiyama
Yasuhito
Y
Miyazaki
Yoshitsugu
Y
Hirakata
Yoichi
Y
Tomono
Kazunori
K
Mizuta
Yohei
Y
Tsukamoto
Kazuhiro
K
Kohno
Shigeru
S
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000667:Ampicillin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015377:Cilastatin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013407:Sulbactam / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004338:Drug Combinations; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; D015377:Cilastatin; D015378:Imipenem; D000667:Ampicillin; D013407:Sulbactam