Staphylococcal Septicemia Treated with Methicillin

Abstract

SINCE the introduction of penicillin into clinical medicine nearly two decades ago, infections due to antibiotic-resistant staphylococci have become an increasingly serious problem. Penicillinase producers now account for more than 80 per cent of significant staphylococcal infections1 , 2 and were largely responsible for the sevenfold increase in deaths from staphylococcal septicemia reported during the years 1949 to 1959.3 Treatment has been relatively unsatisfactory, partly because of the debilitated state of many patients with severe staphylococcal infections. In addition, the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms, the frequent occurrence of toxicity and the relatively weak antistaphylococcal action of most antibiotics have limited the . . .