The Results of the Systemic Administration of the Antiobiotic, Bacitracin, in Surgical Infections. A Preliminary Report

Biochemistry of Antibiotics

“…Bacitracin ministration of bacitracin caused renal damage in humans (163) and in mice (164). CircuUn (Bacillus circulans) .-Mc Leod (165) and Murray et al (166) su bmitted papers almost simultaneously describing antibiotic substances from a Bacillus resembling B. circulans.…”

The Effect of Bacitracin on Renal Function

“…Following the discovery by Johnson, Anker, and Meleney of the polypeptide antibiotic substance, bacitracin, in culture filtrates of a strain of B. subtilis (1), this drug has been administered to a large number of patients with a variety of bacterial infections (2)(3)(4)(5).…”

“…Recent reports, however, have indicated an increasing awareness of the nephrotoxic properties of commercial preparations of bacitracin administered parenterally to the human (2,5).…”

“…Also of interest is the rapid decline in the magnitude of proteinuria (Figure 1) Following baseline determinations of the above functions as well as of blood non-protein nitrogen and urea nitrogen, bacitracin2 was administered intramuscularly in a dosage of 1,500 units per kilogram body weight followed by a second injection of the same magnitude 24 hours later. This dosage was selected to correspond to the daily therapeutic dosage employed by others in the treatment of various surgical and medical infections (2,4,5). Two different lots of bacitracin, Lot B129 (Ben Venue) and Lot B480210 (Commercial Solvents), were used in the present study.…”

A Comparative Study of the Renal Damage Produced in Mice by Various Lots of Bacitracin 1

“…In recent publications it has been suggested that bacitracin grown by the deep-tank method shows a higher degree of nephrotoxicity than the bacitracin produced by surface culture methods (1). The studies being reported were designed to compare the two types of material from a strictly objective standpoint.…”