The efficacy and safety of piperacillin/tazobactam in the therapy of bacteraemia

The efficacy of the combination of piperacillin plus tazobactam was studied in 142 patients who had a bacteriologically proven bacteraemia. Seventy-three patients were bacteriologically evaluable and, of these, 55 had a follow-up blood culture; there was no follow-up culture in the other 18 patients, so that any cure could only be presumptive. Of the 55 patients who were fully followed up, 32 received only piperacillin and tazobactam and 23 also received an aminoglycoside. Overall, there were 67 cures and six failures out of 73 evaluable cases (three Staphylococcus aureus, two Staphylococcus epidermidis and one Streptococcus bovis). There were 11 deaths, eight of which occurred in neutropenic patients. In no case was death drug related. Side-effects were mild; the commonest adverse events noted were mild elevations of liver enzymes. Piperacillin plus tazobactam appeared efficacious and safe in the therapy of bacteraemia.