Antipneumococcal activity of ertapenem (MK-0826) compared to those of other agents.

The activities of ertapenem (MK-0826) and eight other agents against a range of penicillin-susceptible and -resistant pneumococci were tested by determination of MICs by the microdilution method and by the time-kill methodology. For 125 penicillin-susceptible, 74 penicillin-intermediate, and 86 penicillin-resistant pneumococci, the MICs at which 50% of isolates are inhibited (MIC(50)s) and MIC(90)s, as determined by the microdilution method, were as follows: for ertapenem, 0.016 and 0.03, 0.125 and 0.5, and 0.5 and 1.0 microg/ml for penicillin-susceptible, penicillin-intermediate, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, respectively; for amoxicillin, < or =0.016 and 0.03, 0.25 and 1.0, and 2.0 and 2.0 microg/ml for penicillin-susceptible, penicillin-intermediate, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, respectively; for cefprozil, 0.125 and 0.25, 1.0 and 8.0, and 16.0 and 16.0 microg/ml for penicillin-susceptible, penicillin-intermediate, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, respectively; for cefepime, < or =0.016 and 0.06, 0.5 and 1.0, and 1.0 and 2.0 microg/ml for penicillin-susceptible, penicillin-intermediate, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, respectively; for ceftriaxone, < or =0.016 and 0.06, 0.25 and 1.0, and 1.0 and 2.0 microg/ml for penicillin-susceptible, penicillin-intermediate, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, respectively; for imipenem, < or =0.008 and < or =0.008, 0.03 and 0.25, and 0.25 and 0.25 microg/ml for penicillin-susceptible, penicillin-intermediate, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, respectively; for meropenem, < or =0.008 and 0.016, 0.125 and 0.5, and 0.5 and 1.0 microg/ml for penicillin-susceptible, penicillin-intermediate, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, respectively; and for clarithromycin, 1.0 and >32.0, 1.0 and >32.0, and >32.0 and >32.0 microg/ml for penicillin-susceptible, penicillin-intermediate, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, respectively. For 64 strains for which quinolone MICs were increased (ciprofloxacin MICs, > or =4.0 microg/ml), the MIC(90) of ertapenem was 1.0 microg/ml and the MIC(90)s of the other beta-lactams tested and clarithromycin were >32.0 microg/ml. Against four penicillin-susceptible, four penicillin-intermediate, and four penicillin-resistant strains, testing by the time-kill methodology showed that ertapenem at two times the MIC was bacteriostatic (99% killing) after 12 h and bactericidal (99.9% killing) against all strains by 24 h, with 90% killing of all strains at two times the MIC after 6 h. At the MIC, ertapenem was bacteriostatic against all strains tested after 24 h. Although the bactericidal activity of imipenem at the MIC after 24 h was significantly greater than that of ertapenem, the kinetics of the two drugs at two times the MIC were similar after 24 h. The killing kinetics of clarithromycin were slower than those of ertapenem and other agents, with clarithromycin at two times the MIC having bactericidal activity against seven of eight macrolide-susceptible strains after 24 h.