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. 1979 Jul;16(1):13–18. doi: 10.1128/aac.16.1.13

Bactericidal and Bacteriostatic Action of Chloramphenicol Against Meningeal Pathogens

James J Rahal Jr 1, Michael S Simberkoff 2
PMCID: PMC352780  PMID: 38742

Abstract

The bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects of chloramphenicol, ampicillin, tetracycline, and sulfisoxazole were compared against several potential meningeal pathogens. Chloramphenicol is bactericidal at clinically achievable concentrations against Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Neisseria meningitidis. It is bacteriostatic against gram-negative bacilli of the family Enterobacteriaceae and against Staphylococcus aureus. Chloramphenicol has proven highly efficacious in the treatment of bacterial meningitis caused by those organisms against which it is bactericidal at low concentrations. Because leukocytic phagocytosis in the subarachnoid space is inefficient, we propose that bactericidal activity in cerebrospinal fluid is important for optimal therapy of bacterial meningitis. Chloramphenicol does not provide such activity in meningitis caused by enteric gram-negative bacilli.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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