Clinical effect of 3g/day administration of meropenem on severe pneumonia

We examined the clinical effect of Meropenem (MEPM) on severe pneumonia. We administered 3g of Meropenem daily to 20 patients with severe pneumonia: 8 communityacquired pneumonia patients, 9 nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia patients, and 3 hospital-acquired pneumonia patients. It was effective in 15 of the 20 patients (75%): 8 of 8 community-acquired pneumonia patients (100%), 6 of 9 nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia patients (66.6%), and 1 of 3 hospital-acquired pneumonia patients (33.3%). Bacteriologically, 9 of a total of 10 strains (90%) were eradicated: 4 of 4 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains, 2 of 2 methicillin-sensitive Staphlococcus aureus strains, 1 of 2 Enterococcus faecalis strains, 1 of 1 Klebsiella pneumoniae strain, and 1 of 1 Escherichia coli strain. Hepatic dysfunction was observed as a side effect in 8 patients (40%). Based on the above, administration of MEPM daily 3 g is extremely effective for community-acquired pneumonia, while it appears ineffective in many cases of nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia or hospital-acquired pneumonia, and results in hepatic dysfunction at a high frequency