Penicillin

About: Penicillin is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17916 publications have been published within this topic receiving 368480 citations. The topic is also known as: penicillin antibiotic & PCN.

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus: prevalence and antibiogram in a tertiary care hospital in western Nepal.

Abstract: Background: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of nosocomial and community infections. Its prevalence varies with country and with hospitals within a country. The current study estimates the prevalence of MRSA strains and investigates their antibiogram in western Nepal. Methodology: A total of 162 S. aureus strains were isolated from various clinical specimens, and antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed using disc diffusion, growth on oxacillin screen agar, and oxacillin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Results: One hundred and twelve (69.1%) strains were found to be MRSA, of which 37 (33.1%) were community acquired and 75 (66.9%) were hospital acquired. Of 112 MRSA strains, 45 (40.1%) were multi-drug resistant. All MRSA strains were found resistant to penicillin, and 91.9%, 87.4%, 77%, and 55.5% were resistant to amoxicillin, ampicillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and cephalexin, respectively. However, low resistance was observed with amikacin (19%), ciprofloxacin (26.5%), and norfloxacin (30.6%). All strains were sensitive to vancomycin. Conclusion: The reported rate of MRSA prevalence is alarming. Given the ability of MRSA to spread from person to person, it is necessary to adhere to rational use of antibiotics and to raise awareness among the concerned communities and tourists who visit this area.

Amoxicillin: a broad spectrum antibiotic

Abstract: Amoxicillin though originally introduced in the early 1970’s for oral use in U.K., has found a gradually regular place as broad spectrum antibacterial to treat the infections of various diseases. Amoxicillin has been found to be more effective against gram positive than gram negative micro‐ organisms and demonstrated greater efficacy to penicillin and penicillin V. Moreover, it has been found comparable to other antibiotics, e.g. ampicillin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, cefuroxime and doxycycline in treatment of various infections/ diseases. In the past decade, amoxicillin has been reported to be useful in the management of many indications and is used to treat infections of the middle ear (otitis media) , tonsils (tonsillitis & tonsillopharyngitis), throat, larynx (laryngitis) , pharynx (pharyngitis), bronchi (bronchitis), lungs (pneumonia), urinary tract (UTI), skin and to treat gonorrhoea. Recent studies suggested that it can be used as prophylaxis against bacterial endocarditis, in patients with prosthetic joint replacements and in dentistry. The renewed interest of the molecule has prompted a review of the salient facets of the drug.

The effects of antibiotics and their breakdown products on the in vitro growth of Antirrhinum majus.

Abstract: The effects of various antibiotics on the development of hypocotyls of Antirrhinum majus in tissue culture have been studied. The penicillins, carbenicillin and penicillin G, have been shown to stimulate callus growth, have little impact on shoot production and may stimulate root formation. The cephalosporins, cephotaxime and cephalosporin, have no effect on callus production and reduce shoot and root formation. HPLC, GC and GC-MS analyses have shown that concentrations of carbenicillin and penicillin G, commonly used in plant tissue culture, break down to give physiologically active levels of the auxin phenylacetic acid. This offers a mechanism for the stimulation of growth caused by these two antibiotics.

Treatment of aspiration pneumonia and primary lung abscess. Penicillin G vs clindamycin.

Abstract: Aspiration pneumonitis and lung abscess generally involve anaerobic bacteria, which normally colonize the upper respiratory passages. The therapeutic response of these infections to parenteral penicillin G (49 patients) and parenteral clindamycin (35 patients) was compared to determine relative efficacy. No difference was discerned between these two agents in terms of time required for defervescence, roentgenographic clearing, and ultimate outcome. Seven patients with infections includingBacteroides fragiliswere treated with penicillin G, and all responded well. These data indicate that penicillin G is the preferred agent for pulmonary infections involving anaerobic bacteria. Clindamycin is a suitable alternative for patients in whom penicillin G is contraindicated. (JAMA234:935-937, 1975)

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Bacillus anthracis: comparison of results obtained by using the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards broth microdilution reference and Etest agar gradient diffusion methods.

Abstract: We determined the patterns of antimicrobial susceptibility of 65 isolates of Bacillus anthracis (50 historical and 15 recent U.S. clinical isolates) to nine antimicrobial agents using the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) broth microdilution reference method. The results for the 50 historical B. anthracis isolates obtained by the broth microdilution method were compared to those generated by the Etest agar gradient diffusion method. One isolate of B. anthracis was β-lactamase positive and resistant to penicillin (MIC, 128 μg/ml); a second isolate, which was β-lactamase negative, was borderline penicillin resistant, with the penicillin MICs for the isolate varying from 0.12 to 0.25 μg/ml; and the remainder of the isolates were β-lactamase negative and penicillin susceptible (MICs, ≤0.12 μg/ml). Approximately 78% of the isolates showed reduced susceptibility to ceftriaxone (MICs, ≥16 μg/ml). All B. anthracis isolates were susceptible to chloramphenicol (MICs, ≤8 μg/ml), ciprofloxacin (MICs, ≤ 1 μg/ml), clindamycin (MICs, ≤0.5 μg/ml), rifampin (MICs, ≤0.5 μg/ml), tetracycline (MICs, ≤0.06 μg/ml), and vancomycin (MICs, ≤2 μg/ml) by use of NCCLS breakpoints for staphylococci. All 15 recent B. anthracis isolates from the United States were susceptible to penicillin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin. By use of the susceptibility breakpoint for staphylococci of ≤0.5 μg/ml, 97% of the B. anthracis isolates tested would have been categorized as intermediate to erythromycin. No statistically significant difference was found between the results of broth microdilution testing and the results of the Etest method for any of the antimicrobial agents tested; however, the results for penicillin obtained by the Etest were 1 to 9 dilutions lower than those obtained by the broth microdilution method. The differences in the penicillin MICs by the Etest method and the difficulties of reading the Etest results through the glass of a biological safety cabinet may limit the utility of this alternate susceptibility testing method for B. anthracis isolates.