A Non-inferiority Pilot Study Comparing the Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Generic Wide-spectrum Antibiotic Use in Septic Oncology Patients

The present study is a non-inferiority study based on a descriptive and comparative case series for comparison of generic vs. original intravenous antimicrobials in septic oncology patients at an oncology private ICU. 1906 cancer patients admitted to Arturo Lopez Perez Foundation, Chile, were included in this study. After recruitment, a first retrospective group of 206 septic cancer patients recorded from 1st January, 2008 until July 14th, 2010, treated with original antibiotics (cefoperazone-sulbactam, imipenem-cilastatin, piperacillin-tazobactam) were included for analyses and a second prospective group of 143 septic cancer patients recorded from July 15th, 2010 until January 02, 2013, treated with the same but generic antibiotics were also included for comparisons. The trial protocol was developed in accordance with Helsinki and Good Clinical Practices recommendations. The results of this study showed no significant differences between the 2 groups in days of treatment, rate of success and lab test determinations (white cell count, PCR and procalcitonin), with lower, but not significant, total bed days and CPU bed days for generic antibiotics. Therefore, we conclude that the safety and efficacy of the generic antibiotics cefactam (R), imipen (R) and Piperazam (R) are not inferior to original antibiotics for the treatment of severe sepsis in hospitalised patients at the Arturo Lopez Perez Foundation.