Ceftriaxone in treatment of serious infections. Skin and soft tissue infections

Ceftriaxone is generally recognized to be safe and effective when administered either intravenously or intramuscularly to both adults and children as a single drug for skin and skin structure infections. An advantage of ceftriaxone over the other third-generation cephalosporins is its long serum half-life, which allows it to be given every 12 hours in children and every 24 hours in most adults. There is no question that ceftriaxone is effective for skin and soft tissue infections, particularly those caused by staphylococci and streptococci. The drug's sales to home infusion companies around the country attest to its widespread use for such infections. The fact remains, however, that the data required to substantiate efficacy and safety for ceftriaxone or for any of the other third-generation cephalosporins are just not available in large numbers.