Tobramycin and ticarcillin therapy for exacerbations of pulmonary disease in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Patients who had cystic fibrosis and acute infectious exacerbations of pulmonary disease 
produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa were treated with a combination of tobramycin 
and ticarcillin. P. aeruginosa recovered from patients was inhibited by lower 
concentrations of both of these drugs than of gentamicin or carbenicillin. 
Thirteen courses of treatment were administered to 11 patients (mean, 14.4 
days). A favorable response was seen in 11 of 12 completed 
courses of treatment. Improvement was associated with decreases in white blood 
cell count, temperature, and sedimentation rate. Adverse reactions were uncommon. Although 
P. aeruginosa was not eradicated from the sputum, the clinical results 
suggest that the combination of tobramycin and ticarcillin may be particularly 
useful for treatment of acute exacerbations of pulmonary disease in patients 
with cystic fibrosis from whom P. aeruginosa is isolated. 