Studies of -lactam pharmacodynamics in infected patients are sparse. In this study, classification and regression tree (CART) and logistic regression analyses were used to identify which pharmacodynamic indices and magnitudes were significant predictors of meropenem efficacy for 101 adult patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). Using demographic data, a validated population p…
This overview provides a summary of the Meropenem Yearly Susceptibility Test Information Collection (MYSTIC) Program over an 8-year period from 1997 to 2004. The evolution of the MYSTIC Program is described, as well as its design compared with other surveillance programs. In addition, the global MYSTIC Program data, published to date, are summarized, and the empiric use of carbapenems, their cu…
Meropenem is a carbapenem antibacterial agent that has antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative, Gram-positive and anaerobic micro-organisms. In vitro studies involving isolates from patients in intensive care units (ICUs) indicate that meropenem is more active against most Gram-negative pathogens than other comparators (including imipenem), although, compared with imipenem, meropenem is l…
The parenteral carbapenem meropenem is relatively stable to inactivation by human renal dehydropeptidase (DHP-1) and does not require concomitant administration of a DHP-1 inhibitor such as cilastatin. It has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity in vitro, the majority of Gram-negative, Gram-positive and anaerobic pathogens being highly susceptible to the drug. Meropenem has shown clinical…
Your doctor has determined that you have radiation colitis, an inflammation of the colon that occurs as a side effect of cancer radiation therapy to the abdomen or pelvis. The condition can arise from external radiation treatment delivered by a high energy X-ray machine or internal radiation therapy, which is delivered through small implants placed directly into or near the cancerous tumor