[Effects of cefoperazone on respiratory infections of patients of advanced age and/or with underlying respiratory diseases].

Respiratory infections of 19 subjects of advanced age and/or with underlying respiratory disease were treated with cefoperazone (CPZ) and its clinical effects were studied. Sixteen subjects suffered from respiratory tract infection and 3 subjects had pneumonia. The age of the subjects ranged from 39 to 77 years with the mean of 63.8, 7 of them being more than 70 years of age. The underlying respiratory diseases included chronic pulmonary emphysema in 6 subjects, diffuse panbronchiolitis in 3, bronchiectasis in 3, silicosis in 2 and one each of chronic bronchitis, pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer and old pulmonary tuberculosis. One case, 75 years of age, had renal insufficiency. The daily dose of CPZ was 4 grams in 18 of the 19 subjects and the duration of administration ranged 5 to 22 days. The remaining 1 subject received 2 g of CPZ daily for 6 days. Clinical effects were judged from the changes in fever, cough, amount of sputum, dyspnea, rales, cyanosis, chest X-ray, white blood cell counts, CRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rates and results of sputum culture. Clinical effects were good in 16 subjects, fair in 1, and poor in 2. Bacteriological follow-up was carried out in 13 subjects. Infecting bacteria were eliminated from 5 subjects, reduced in 2 and, in 4 subjects, they were replaced by other bacteria. In 1 subject, P. aeruginosa was isolated from sputum even after the treatment with CPZ, and in another subject H. influenzae relapsed immediately after the cessation of the CPZ treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)