Cefoxitin therapy of anaerobic and aerobic infections

Abstract

Cefoxitin is a cephamycin antibiotic which is resistant to β-lactamase. It has good in vitro activity against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria including Bacteroides fragilis. This drug was studied in 37 serious episodes of infection in 36 patients; 21 patients had an anaerobic infection including 7 with B. fragilis. The most common sites were the skin, soft tissues and the intra-abdorninal cavity. Twenty-three patients (66%) had clinical and bacteriological cure, 2 patients improved, and 9 failed: 6 had failure to cure infection and 3 had adverse reactions. Two of the failures occurred in patients infected with Group A β-streptococci. Of the 21 anaerobic infections, 17 (81%) had a favourable response, including 7 patients with B. fragilis infections (6 cured and I improved). Adverse side-effects were encountered in 6 patients, usually consisting of phlebitis or mild allergic reactions. This study demonstrated that cefoxitin is efficacious and safe for the therapy of serious infections involving aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.