Experimental and clinical study of ritipenem acoxil for urinary tract infections

Abstract

We experimentally examined the antibacterial activity of ritipenem, a new penem oral antibiotic, on Neisseria gonorrhoeae and also clinically evaluated its effects on urinary tract infection. The MIC₉₀ of ritipenem was 1.56μg/ml in 40 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. This antibacterial activity was higher than that of cefaclor (CCL) and amoxillin (AMPC) but lower than that of cefixime (CFIX). In the clinical study, an excellent response was observed in all 3 patients with acute simple cystitis that fulfilled UTI criteria for the evaluation of drug efficacy. The response rate was 73.3%(11/15) in the patients with complicated urinary tract infection. Laboratory examinations showed increases in GPT, γ-GTP, and ALP in 1 patient and slight increases in total bilirubin and LDH in 1 patient, but these abnormalities presented no clinical problems. No subjective or objective side effects were observed.