Laboratory and clinical studies on cefotiam hexetil

We performed laboratory and clinical studies on cefotiam hexetil (CTM-HE), a new cephalosporin and pro-drug of cefotiam, with the following results. 1) Antimicrobial activity The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of cefotiam (CTM) for a total 134 strains, consisting of 12 standard strains and 122 clinical isolates, were determined and compared with those of cefaclor (CCL). The activity of CTM against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae and Branhamella catarrhalis was superior to that of CCL. The activity of CTM against Streptococcus pneumoniae was equally potent to that of CCL. MICs of both antibiotics against strains of Pseudomonas aeruginas were more than 100 μg/ml. 2) Clinical efficacy CTM-HE 300 or 600 mg/day was given to 4 patients with pneumonia, 3 with acute bronchitis and 3 with acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis for 5 to 14 days. Clinical response was excellent in 1, good in 4, fair in 4 and not assessable in 1 patient. Vomiting as a side effect was observed in one patient. Altered laboratory findings were observed in 2 patients with transient elevation of GOT and in one case with an increase in eosinophils.