Comparative in vitro activity of cefbuperazone against anaerobic bacteria isolated from community hospitals

The activity of cefbuperazone against 266 strains of anaerobic bacteria was determined by the agar dilution method and compared with cefoxitin, moxalactam, piperacillin, and clindamycin. All strains were recent clinical isolates from community hospitals. All agents tested showed good activity against Bacteroides fragilis, Fusobacterium spp., Propionibacterium spp., Clostridium septicum, Clostridium perfringens, and the anaerobic, gram-positive cocci and gram-negative cocci. Cefbuperazone, cefoxitin, and moxalactam had poor activity against Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bacteroides ovatus, and Bacteroides distasonis. The susceptibility of other Clostridium spp., Lactobacillus spp., and Eubacterium lentum was variable. Our community hospital isolates showed a difference in susceptibility patterns from those reported from university and research centers. This supports the recommendation that clinical microbiology laboratories, including those in community hospitals, need to perform susceptibility testing on representative clinical isolates.