Laboratory Aspects of Infections

The International Society of Chemotherapy meets every two years to review progress in chemotherapy of infections and of malignant disease. Each meeting gets larger to encompass the extension of chemotherapy into new areas. In some instances, expansion has been rapid, for example in cephalosporins, pen­ icillins and combination chemotherapy of cancer - in others slow, as in the field of parasitology. New problems of resistance and untoward effects arise; reduction of host toxicity without loss of antitumour activity by new substances occupies wide attention. The improved results with cancer chemotherapy, es­ pecially in leukaemias, are leading to a greater prevalence of severe infection in patients so treated, pharmacokinetics of drugs in normal and diseased subjects is receiving increasing attention along with related problems of bioavailability and interactions between drugs. Meanwhile the attack on some of the major bacterial infections, such as gonorrhoea and tubercu­ losis, which were among the first infections to feel the impact of chemotherapy, still continue to be major world problems and are now under attack with new agents and new methods. From this wide field and the 1,000 papers read at the Congress we have produced Proceedings which reflect the variety and vigour of research in this important field of medicine. It was not possible to include all of the papers presented at the Congress but we have attempted to include most aspects of cur­ rent progress in chemotherapy.

Introductory Comments.- Control of Antibiotic-Sensitivity Testing in Britain.- Control of Antibacterial Susceptibility Testing: Standardization and Proficiency Testing in Canada.- Antibiotic Sensitivity Testing in Australia and New Zealand.- Problems of Standardization of Media.- Effects of Medium on the Results of Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing.- Influence of Four Commercial Sensitivity Media on In Vitro Activity of Several Antibiotics.- A Spot Plate Method for Antibiotic-Bacterial Killing Rates.- Usefulness of Commercially Available Media to MIC-Determinations of Trimethoprim.- Thymidine and the Assessment of Co-Trimoxazole Action in Liquid Media.- Antibacterial Susceptibility Testing on Anaerobes.- Sensitivity Testing of Mixed Infections.- A Diffusion Disc Susceptibility Test for 5-Fluorocytosine.- The Susceptibility of Clostridia from the Antarctic Soil to Antibiotics.- Brief Antibiotic Exposure and Effect on Bacterial Growth.- Trimethoprim and Rifampicin: In Vitro Activities Separately and in Combination.- A 125I-based Radioimmunoassay for Serum Gentamicin.- Fluorimetric Assay of Tetracycline Mixtures in Plasma.- Assay of Antibiotics with Agar Diffusion Technique.- A New Assay Technique for Antibiotics.- The Problem of Antibiotic Mixtures in Serum Samples.- Some Factors Influencing the Assay of Gentamicin.- Assay of Gentamicin and Tobramycin by a Reliable 2-1/2 hour Klebsiella Plate Method.- Punch Hole Method. A Simplified Bio-Assay Technique of Antibiotic Concentrations.- The Assay of Serum Aminoglycoside Concentrations by the (14C) — Acetyl Transferase Techniques.- Immunochemical Study of the Structural Specificity of an Antigentamycin Antiserum, Useful Also for Radioimmunoassay of Sisomycin.- Serum Activity Determination as Connecting Link Between Experiment and Clinic.- Animal Models in the Assessment of Antimicrobial Agents: What Should We Expect of Them?.- Local Lesions.- Intraperitoneal Challenge.- Endocarditis.- The Usefulness of Experimental Models of Urinary Tract Infections in the Assessment of Chemotherapeutic Compounds.- An Animal Model for Intestinal Infections.- Animal Models in the Assessment of Antimicrobial Agents: Salmonellosis.- Animal Models and Pharmacokinetics.- Use of an In Vitro Model of the Urinary Bladder in the Investigation of Bacterial Response to Antibiotics.- Experimental Intra-Abdominal Sepsis.- Comparative Effects of Amoxycillin and Ampicillin in the Treatment of Experimental Mouse Infections.- Model of Pleuropneumonia in Rats.- Murine Meningoencephalitis Caused by Ps. aeruginosa or Kl. pneumoniae as an Experimental Chemotherapeutic Model.- Animal Experiments on Current Antibiotics.- Effect of Carbenicillin on Pseudomonas Infection.- Comparison of Carfecillin and Carbenicillin on Experimental Urinary Tract Infection.- Model of Experimental Cystitis in Albino Wistar Rats.- Pathogenesis of an Experimental Pyelonephritis Model in the Mouse and Its Use in the Evaluation of Antibiotics.- Chronic E. coli Nephritis in Rats: Model for Assessment of Activity of Antimicrobial Agents.- Combined Therapy of Anti-Endotoxin (OEP) antibody and Gentamicin in the Immunosuppressed Mice with Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection.- Investigations on Circulatory Tolerance of Doxycycline (Vibravenous®) and Rolitetracycline (Reverin®) in Waking Minipigs.- An In Vitro Comparison of Sisomicin with Gentamicin and Tobramycin.- Bacteriological and Clinical Evaluation of Sisomicin, A New Aminoglycoside Antibiotic.- Pharmacokinetics of Sisomicin in Patients with Renal Impairment.- Serum and Tissue Levels of Sisomicin in Dogs.- Sisomicin Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections.- Parenteral Sisomicin for Surgical Infections.- Clinical Trial of Sisomycin: Evaluation of Two Different Dosages.- In Vivo Activity of Sisomicin in Mice.- New Data on Pharmacology of Gentamicin.- Bacteriological, Clinical, and Pharmacological Investigations with Tobramycin.- The Urinary Excretion of Tobramycin and Gentamicin.- Pharmacokinetics and Ototoxicity of Gentamicin, Tobramycin and Amikacin.- Clinical Experience on Tobramycin.- Evaluation of Tobramycin in Severe Injury Tract Infection.- Butirosin — Pharmacodynamics and Clinical Experience.- Action Mechanism of 3,4-dideoxykanamycin B (DKB) on Some Gram-Negative Bacteria.- Use of 3,4-dideoxykanamycin B (DKB) in Various Infections.- List of Contributors.