The susceptibility of 28 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas maltophilia to 16 antimicrobial agents was determined in vitro by a standard agar dilution method with inoculum sizes of 104 and 106 CFU. All isolates exhibited multiple drug resistance. Nine isolates were selected for studies of combinations of ciprofloxacin with seven antipseudomonal ,-lactams and three aminoglycosides by a checkerboard agar dilution technique. Synergistic or additive combinations of ciprofloxacin in clinically achievable concentrations were most frequent with meziocillin (89%), followed by cefoperazone (67%), piperacillin (56%), cefsulodin (56%), and ceftazidime (33%), and were infrequent with aztreonam (11%), the aminoglycosides (0 to 14%), or imipenem (0%). Antagonism was not observed in any combination. These data suggest that combinations of ciprofloxacin with these agents may be useful for some nosocomial multiply drug-resistant P. maltophilia infections.Pseudomonas maltophilia is an important nosocomial pathogen (12) which presents a unique therapeutic challenge because of its tendency to exhibit multiple resistance to aminoglycosides and P-lactams (3,6,9,13). Furthermore, synergistic activity of aminoglycoside-,-lactam combinations is infrequently observed (3, 9). We examined the in vitro susceptibility of 28 clinical isolates of P. maltophilia to ciprofloxacin and three other quinolones (norfloxacin, difloxacin, and A-56620), as well as to nine extended-spectrum 1-lactams (carbenicillin, ticarcillin, piperacillin, imipenem, SCH-34343, aztreonam, ceftazidime, cefoperazone, and cefsulodin) and three aminoglycosides (gentamicin, tobramycin, and amikacin), by an agar dilution method. Selected strains were used to test for synergy of ciprofloxacin in combination with other agents by a checkerboard agar dilution technique. Demonstration of synergistic activity in vitro with these antimicrobial combinations may suggest useful therapeutic regimens for these difficult infections in the clinical setting.A total of 28 P. maltophilia isolates obtained from patients in Vancouver General Hospital were available for study. Sources included sputum (7 isolates), wounds (7 isolates), urine (2 isolates), cerebro spinal fluid (1 isolate), and miscellaneous sites (11 isolates). In vitro susceptibility to each antibiotic was determined by the agar dilution method (1). A Steers replicator was used to deliver a 0.0025-ml inoculum onto the surface of Mueller-Hinton agar (BBL Microbiology Systems) supplemented with calcium (50 mg/liter) and magnesium (25 mg/liter) and containing twofold serial dilutions of the test antibiotics. Unsupplemented Mueller-Hinton agar contained 1.5 mM calcium and 0.7 mM magnesium, as determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The final cation concentrations in the supplemented medium were 2.7 mM calcium and 1.7 mM magnesium. The effect of inoculum was assessed by testing both inoculum sizes, 104 and 106 CFU per spot, for each organism. Plates without antibiotics served as controls. All plates were incubated for 24 h a...