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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 1998, p. 729-733, Vol. 42, No. 4
0066-4804/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Cefepime versus Ceftriaxone for Empiric Treatment of Hospitalized Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia

M. Zervos,1,* M. Nelson,2 and the Cefepime Study Group1,2,dagger

Infectious Diseases Division, Wayne State University, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan,1 and Medical Services, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri2

Received 21 April 1997/Returned for modification 24 June 1997/Accepted 10 January 1998

Effective empiric treatment of pneumonia requires antibiotic coverage against gram-negative and gram-positive pathogens, including drug-resistant isolates. We compared the safety and efficacy of intravenous (i.v.) cefepime (2 g administered every 12 h) to those of i.v. ceftriaxone (1 g administered every 12 h) for the empiric treatment of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Of the 115 patients randomized to the study, 86 (cefepime recipients, n = 40; ceftriaxone recipients, n = 46) were evaluated for clinical efficacy (clinically evaluated patients). Favorable clinical outcomes (cure or improvement) were comparable among clinically evaluated patients in the cefepime and ceftriaxone treatment arms (95.0 versus 97.8%, respectively; 95% confidence interval for treatment difference [data for ceftriaxone group minus data for cefepime group], -5.1 to +10.8%). The most common bacteria isolated from patients in both treatment groups were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Staphylococcus aureus. In clinically evaluated patients with a microbiologic response, all (100%) of the 32 pathogens from cefepime-treated patients and 97.4% (38 of 39) of the pathogens from ceftriaxone-treated patients were eradicated (documented or presumed eradication). The one persistent infection in the ceftriaxone group was caused by Pseudomonas fluorescens. Both treatments were well tolerated. Our data thus suggest that cefepime and ceftriaxone have comparable safety and efficacy for the treatment of pneumonia in hospitalized patients.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: William Beaumont Hospital, 3601 West 13 Mile Rd., Royal Oak, MI 48073. Phone: (248) 551-0419. Fax: (248) 551-8880. E-mail: mzervos{at}beaumont.edu.

dagger The Cefepime Study Group includes the following investigators, who enrolled patients in the study: J. Bernstein, D. Kernodle, R. McCabe, N. Memon, R. Player, A. Quartin, C. VanHook, and S. Willsie.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 1998, p. 729-733, Vol. 42, No. 4
0066-4804/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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