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Biomedical subjects

N A Cornick

Publications and source records attributed to N A Cornick.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the Bacteroides fragilis group in the United States, 1987.

A nationwide survey to monitor the susceptibility of the Bacteroides fragilis group, which began in 1981, was continued during 1987. In addition to the eleven drugs evaluated in 1986, sulbactam, a potent beta-lactamase inhibitor, was tested alone and in combination with ampicillin and cefoperazone. Imipenem, ampicillin/sulbactam, cefoperazone/sulbactam, and ticarcillin/clavulanic acid were the most active newer drugs tested, with less than 1% resistance rates. Chloramphenicol, metronidazole and clindamycin also had excellent activity with resistance rates of 0%, 0%, and 3% respectively. Resistance rates to cefoxitin remained stable at 8%. Ceftizoxime and cefotetan had resistance rates of 26% and 29%, respectively. Rates of resistance varied among different institutions and between the various species.

Anti-Bacterial Agents

Suppression of colonic microflora by cefoperazone and evaluation of the drug as potential prophylaxis in bowel surgery.

We evaluated the activity of cefoperazone (CPZ) on the intestinal flora in terms of its use as a single prophylactic drug in colon surgery. Twenty-four healthy male volunteers between the ages of 20 and 40 were assigned to receive either CPZ, oral neomycin-erythromycin, or no antibiotics. A mechanical bowel preparation, Golytely, was also given to each of the subjects. With intravenous CPZ, antibiotic levels in the stool ranged from less than 2 to 649 micrograms/ml and the total fecal bacterial counts dropped 3 to 4 log10 CFU/g. Higher levels of CPZ were detected in the stools when an oral dose was added, 1,446 to 5,445 micrograms/ml, and the bacterial counts were reduced maximally 4 to 6 log10 CFU/g. The combination of the oral and intravenous doses produced suppression of the microflora and high levels in blood, all with a single antibiotic.

Administration, Oral

Synergistic activity of cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime against the Bacteroides fragilis group.

Sensitivities to cefotaxime (CTX) and its metabolite, desacetylcefotaxime (DCTX), alone and in combination, were determined for 77 organisms of the B. fragilis group. Synergy was observed in 23 (30%) of the strains, of which 21 were those that had a MIC to CTX alone of less than or equal to 16 micrograms/ml. In the remaining two strains, which were resistant to CTX alone, one strain was susceptible to the combination, while the second strain was not. In one strain of B. fragilis, the drug combination increased the MIC of CTX, but both the MIC and MBC remained in the susceptible range.

Bacteroides fragilis

Campylobacter.

Campylobacter is now known to be a major cause of gastrointestinal illness throughout the world. There are seven species known to be associated with enteritis, and it is likely that more will be described. Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for more than 95 per cent of the cases of diarrhea due to Campylobacter. Contaminated food products are the major source of infection. The clinical illness usually involves diarrhea, abdominal pain, and other constitutional symptoms. An accurate diagnosis of Campylobacter enteritis is made when the organism is cultured from the patient's stool. Selective media are widely available, and the isolation of C. jejuni is not difficult. Although erythromycin and the quinolones have good in vitro activity against C. jejuni, antibiotic therapy generally is not indicated.

Animals

Activity of cefmetazole against anaerobic bacteria.

The in vitro activity of cefmetazole versus that of other antimicrobial drugs was assessed against 374 clinical isolates of Bacteroides spp., Clostridium spp., and anaerobic gram-positive cocci. Compared with cefoxitin, cefmetazole showed good activity against Bacteroides fragilis, other Bacteroides species, and anaerobic cocci. It was somewhat less active than cefoxitin against Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, B. ovatus, B. distasonis, and B. vulgatus and somewhat more active against Clostridium spp.

Bacteria, Anaerobic

Effect of bismuth subsalicylate on fecal microflora.

Several studies have documented the efficacy of bismuth subsalicylate (BSS) for the prophylaxis and treatment of bacterial diarrhea. It is not known what effect, if any, BSS has on the normal bowel flora. We quantitated the fecal flora in healthy volunteers before and after they took BSS. In the first group, 8 ounces of BSS was given on two successive days. In the second group, a standard oral intestinal lavage preparation (GoLYTELY) was used to clean the colon and then 8 ounces of BSS was given during a 4-hour period. There were no changes in total microbial counts or in counts of individual groups such as enteric bacteria, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Bacteroides, or Clostridium difficile. On day 2 the yeast counts rose 2.4 log10 colony-forming units/g in the group taking 16 ounces of BSS but did not increase in the group taking 8 ounces of BSS plus GoLYTELY. The counts returned to pretreatment levels by day 7. These results show that a 1- or 2-day course of BSS, even with an oral intestinal lavage preparation, did not have significant effects on the normal microbial populations in the fecal microflora.

Adult

In vitro antibacterial activity of bismuth subsalicylate.

This study was undertaken to determine the in vitro activity of bismuth subsalicylate (BSS) and sodium salicylate (SS) against various groups of pathogenic bacteria. BSS had the greatest activity against Clostridium difficile, which had a minimal inhibitory concentration for 90% of the strains (MIC90) of 128 micrograms/mL. The Bacteroides fragilis group also had a relatively low MIC90 of 512 micrograms/mL. BSS had the least activity against Pseudomonas (MIC90, 6,144 micrograms/mL). SS was as active as BSS against aerobic bacteria but was less active against anaerobic bacteria. The MIC90 values of SS for C. difficile and the B. fragilis group were greater than 8,192 and 4,096 micrograms/mL, respectively. This study demonstrates that BSS has antibacterial activity in vitro at levels that should be achievable in the gastrointestinal tract.

Bacteria