In vitro activity of piperacillin/tazobactam and ertapenem against Bacteroides fragilis and Escherichia coli in pure and mixed cultures.

Ertapenem and piperacillin/tazobactam are beta-lactam antibiotics with a broad spectrum of activity used for the treatment of mixed infections in which Bacteroides fragilis and Escherichia coli play an important aetiological role. In this study, the activities of piperacillin/tazobactam and ertapenem (MIC and time-kill kinetics) against these bacteria were compared. MICs were determined by the agar dilution method, and the time and slope of time-kill curves were analysed.