Cephalosporins: rationale for clinical use

Cephalosporins, the most widely used class of antibiotics, are more resistant than penicillins to inactivation by beta-lactamases. Based on their spectrum of activity against gram-negative bacteria, cephalosporins are classified into three generations. The generation classification, however, does no...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	American family physician Vol. 43; no. 3; p. 937
Main Author:	Molavi, A
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States 01-03-1991
Subjects:	Bacterial Infections - drug therapy Cephalosporins - adverse effects Cephalosporins - classification Cephalosporins - metabolism Cephalosporins - pharmacokinetics Half-Life Humans Structure-Activity Relationship Tissue Distribution
Online Access:	Get more information
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Cephalosporins, the most widely used class of antibiotics, are more resistant than penicillins to inactivation by beta-lactamases. Based on their spectrum of activity against gram-negative bacteria, cephalosporins are classified into three generations. The generation classification, however, does not correlate with activity against gram-positive bacteria or anaerobes. First-generation cephalosporins have a narrow gram-negative spectrum but are most active against gram-positive bacteria, particularly Staphylococcus aureus. Third-generation compounds have excellent activity against gram-negative bacteria. The cephamycins, a second-generation subgroup that includes cefoxitin, cefotetan and cefmetazole, have the best activity against anaerobes.
ISSN:	0002-838X