She is felt to have pneumonia and over the next few days is treated with ampicillan, but her condition worsens. She is hospitalized and a chest x-ray shows left lower lobe pneumonia. No sputum was obtainable.

Mrs. Mays is then treated with a broad-spectrum cephalosporin (ceftrixone) and aminoglycoside (gentamicin) for the possibility of a penicillan-resistant pneumoccocus or a Gram-negative rod, and she improves dramatically.

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