The in vitro activity of combinations of penicillin and netilimicin was determined against 20 clinical isolates of enterococci and compared with that obtained in simultaneous tests with penicillin/sisomicin, penicillin/streptomycin, and penicillin/kanamycin. Synergy between the two drugs in each combination was determined by the use of quantitative kill curves and was defined as a killing by th...

When penicillin was added to cultures of Mycoplasma neurolyticum in amounts up to 1,000 units per ml, lag time and generation time were increased and the total population was reduced in proportion to the antibiotic concentration. Although growth suppression by penicillin was complete, the death rate was slow and linear over periods up to 12 days. Growth after induced lag was due to a decay in p...

Penicillin allergy is the most commonly reported drug allergy in the United States. However, after undergoing a complete evaluation by a board-certified allergist, including skin testing, 90% of patients labeled as 'penicillin-allergic' are able to tolerate penicillin. Clinical presentation is key in classifying reactions as either mediated by or not mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE), and in d...

Background Penicillin allergy is a major concern among patients and physicians. There’s an estimated 5-10% self reported history of penicillin allergy by patients, but vast majority are not true hypersensitivities. Complete penicillin skin test with both major, minor determinants and amoxicillin is the test of choice for diagnosing IgE-mediated penicillin allergy. While Penicilloyl polylysine (...

The antibacterial activities of a number of amide derivatives of penicillin against both penicillin-sensitive and penicillin-resistant cultures were determined. Several of them were found to possess significant inhibitory activity against certain gram-positive bacteria. The amides, although resistant to the destructive action of beta-lactamase, did not protect G in competitive experiments. One ...

Infectious disease physicians were surveyed to determine whether the new penicillin breakpoint change will translate into increased penicillin use and to identify barriers to intravenous (i.v.) penicillin use for pneumococcal infections. The inconvenience of i.v. penicillin may limit its use despite a reduction in numbers of infections considered resistant.

Reduced affinity of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) for binding penicillin has been proposed as a mechanism of beta-lactam antibiotic resistance in staphylococci. Penicillin binding by PBPs of three penicillin-susceptible and two penicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus was studied in kinetic assays to determine rate constants, drug concentrations at which PBPs were bound and th...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether treatment with penicillin for three days and the traditional treatment for seven days were equally as effective at accelerating resolution of symptoms in patients with sore throat compared with placebo. DESIGN Randomised double blind placebo controlled trial. SETTING 43 family practices in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS 561 patients, aged 15-60 years, with sore ...