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. 1972 Dec;2(6):431–437. doi: 10.1128/aac.2.6.431

Comparative Activity of Sisomicin, Gentamicin, Kanamycin, and Tobramycin

J Allan Waitz 1, E L Moss Jr 1, C G Drube 1, M J Weinstein 1
PMCID: PMC444335  PMID: 4670437

Abstract

Gentamicin, sisomicin, tobramycin, and kanamycin were compared in parallel tests in vitro and in vivo against a variety of bacterial strains and species. A number of differences were seen in vitro, in particular: (i) the lower activity of kanamycin, (ii) the greater activity of tobramycin against Pseudomonas, (iii) the greater activity of gentamicin and sisomicin against Serratia, and (iv) the generally similar results with tobramycin, gentamicin, and sisomicin against species other than Pseudomonas and Serratia, with the ranking in order of decreasing activity being sisomicin, gentamicin, and tobramycin. Analysis of disc test results suggested that the gentamicin disc is not adequate for testing the susceptibility of all bacteria to sisomicin or tobramycin. In vivo tests did not confirm all specifics of in vitro tests; results of in vivo tests indicated that sisomicin may be the most active. It is suggested that the place of each of the antibiotics in human therapy can best be evaluated by more rigorous in vivo tests and clinical studies rather than extensive in vitro comparisons.

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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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