Moxalactam therapy of difficult infections in patients with serious underlying conditions.

Moxalactam was the single therapeutic agent used to treat a variety of infections in sixty-three patients, most of whom had serious concomitant illnesses. Fifty-three patient case reports qualified for evaluation, including those with pneumonia (8), urinary tract infections (18), superficial infections (6), orthopaedic infections (7), osteomyelitis (8), septicaemia (4), pansinusitis (1), and meningitis (1). Preliminary in vitro studies had indicated that most organisms, including those resistant to other antibacterial agents, would respond to moxalactam. Infecting bacteria from the fifty-three evaluable patients included a wide variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. Doses of moxalactam ranged from 1 to 16 g/day administered intravenously or intramuscularly for 5 to 41 days. With few explainable exceptions, clinical and bacteriologic responses were adequate and satisfactory. Adverse effects were inconsequential. Allergic reactions were not observed, even in patients with a past history of reactions to penicillin.