Ceftizoxime: Clinical evaluation of efficacy and safety in the U.S.A.

Abstract

Ceftizoxime sodium is a third-generation cephalosporin with a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity and excellent β-lactamase stability. The present review relates to multicentre clinical trials of ceftizoxime in the United States. All patients were hospitalized with the exception of patients with gonorrhoea who were treated on an outpatient basis. A total of 1828 patients, adults and children were treated in the U.S. clinical programme. Of this total, 1427 received ceftizoxime. Ceftizoxime proved to be efficacious in genitourinary tract infection (97%), respiratory tract infection (92%), skin and soft tissue infection (97%), peritonitis (96%), bacteraemia (89%), meningitis (100%), infection in neonates (88-2%) and paediatric patients (100%), and in 67% of infections in neutropenic, immunocompromised patients. The bacteriological efficacy was excellent in infections due to highly susceptible bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Proteus, Serratia, Neisseria, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Haemophilus , streptococci and staphylococci. Ceftizoxime was well tolerated in the overwhelming majority of patients and the most frequently reported adverse experiences were minor such as injection site pain, rash, pruritus, fever, eosinophilia, elevated platelet count, and transient elevation of liver enzymes as has been reported after the use of other cephalosporins. Ceftizoxime proved to be a highly effective antibiotic in the treatment of severe infections caused by susceptible bacteria.