PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

V Rodriguez

Publications and source records attributed to V Rodriguez.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Amikacin therapy of infections in neutropenic patients.

Amikacin, a new aminoglycoside antibiotic, was utilized in the treatment of 49 cases of infection which occurred in 39 neutropenic cancer patients. Thirty-four patients (69 per cent) responded to this antibiotic. Pneumonia and septicemia were the most common types of infection treated and the response rates were 65 per cent and 75 per cent, respectively. Gram-negative bacili were responsible for 93 per cent of the identified infections and 74 per cent responded. E. coli, Ps. aeruginosa, and organisms of the Klebsiella-Enterobacter-Serratia group were the most common gram-negative bacilli causing infection. Responses were more frequent among patients who maintained higher serum concentrations of antibiotic, but the differences were not statistically significant. Patients with severe neutropenia (less than 100 neutrophils/mm3) had a response rate of 68 per cent. Toxicity was manifested as azotemia and hearing loss which occurred in 13 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively. However, toxicity was directly related to serum concentration and to the number of treatments with amikacin. This antibiotic is of potential importance because of its efficacy against gram-negative bacilli infections. Best results were obtained when sufficient drug was given as a continuous intravenous infusion to maintain serum concentrations of about 15 mu g/ml.

Adolescent

A comparative trial of sisomicin therapy by intermittent versus continuous infusion.

One hundred and thirty-nine febrile episodes in 120 patients were treated with sisomicin after a combination of carbenicillin and a cephalosporin antibiotic had failed. These patients were randomized to receive sisomicin either by continuous or by intermittent infusion. The response rate for patients treated with sisomicin was 61 percent by continuous infusion and 46 percent by intermittent infusion, which was not statistically significant. Pneumonia, septicemia, and soft tissue infections were the most frequent infections. Most (96 percent) of the identified pathogens were gram-negative bacilli with the most frequent being Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The response rate was higher in those patients whose neutrophil count increased or remained the same while on therapy. The worst response was obtained if there was a decrease in the neutrophil count during therapy. The major toxicity of sisomicin was found to be azotemia and occurred in 17 percent of episodes treated by continuous infusion and in 21 percent treated by intermittent infusion. Hearing loss in the high frequency range occurred in five patients. Sisomicin is effective in the treatment of gram negative infections in neutropenic cancer patients.

Adolescent