The Action of Metronidazole on Anaerobic Bacilli and Similar Organisms

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the action of metronidazole on anaerobic bacilli and similar organisms. Metronidazole, which was introduced into chemotherapy in 1960 as the first clinically effective systemic antitrichomonal agent, has subsequently proved to be remarkable for the breadth, intensity, and consistency of its antiinfective activity. The worldwide recognition of the importance of anaerobic bacteria in the pathogenesis of many forms of serious sepsis has been helped by the fact that metronidazole's direct bactericidal activity is specific for anaerobes, but the demonstration of the outstanding value of the product as a chemotherapeutic agent has mainly resulted from the pioneering work of microbiologists and their surgeon colleagues in British hospitals. This substance's potentialities in treatment and in chemoprophylaxis for surgery have still to be fully realized.