Meropenem (MEPM), a new injectable carbapenem antibiotic, has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. It is expected that MEPM will be usuful for the treatment of surgical infections. Fundamental and clinical studies on MEPM in the surgical field were performed and the results were as follows. 1) The concentrations of MEPM in blood, urine, bile and pancreatic juice were determined in two patients receiving MEPM, 0.5 g. Peak levels were as follows:

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... , 11.4 and 25.6 pg/m1 immediately after completion of infusion; urine, 2,210 and 2,450 pg/ml at 1 h after completion of infusion; bile, 2.07 pg/ml at 1 h and 6.59 pg/ml at 3 h; pancreatic juice, 1.01 and 4.32 pg/ml at 1 h. 2) MEPM and IPM/CS were administered to two patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy in a crossover design, and the distributions of the respective drugs in the bile and pancreatic juice were compared. The blood concentrations at completion of the 30 min drip of 0.5 g MEPM were 11.2 and 16.0