1985 Volume 33 Issue Supplement6 Pages 169-180
We investigated the effect of cefixime (CFIX) on bacterial flora in the intestinal tracts of 5 healthy male volunteers given the drug in oral doses of 200mg twice a day for 14 consecutive days.β-Lactamase activity against the drug in the feces differed by volunteer. In volunteers with low β-lactamase activity, the drug was detected in high concentrations in the feces and changes in the bacterial flora were marked. Various kinds of anaerobic bacteria decreased and Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium increased, however these changes returned to normal soon after the end of the dosing period. In volunteers with high β-lactamase activity, no CFIX was detected in the feces and the effect of the drug on the bacterial flora was slight. No diarrhea occurred in any of the 5 volunteers given the drug orally. However, comparatively small numbers of Clostridium difficile and its toxin were detected in 2 volunteers during and at the end of the dosing period. Antibody against Clostridium difficile toxin was detected in the sera of these volunteers and non-toxin-producing-Clostridium difficile was already present in the fece of another volunteer. There were no changes in susceptibility of main bacterial species such as Bacteroides and E.coli isolated from the feces of 5 volunteers before and at the end of the dosing period.
