[Efficacy and tolerability of cefixime in international and French studies]

Cefixime, the first oral third generation cephalosporin, was administered to 2,832 patients in the USA, UK, FRG and France. 478/1063 patients were treated for urinary tract infections (upper or lower UTI) with 200 mg cefixime bid; clinical cure was obtained in 92 and 96 per cent of upper and lower UTI respectively, and bacteriological cure in 97.5 and 89 per cent of the cases; among 142 patients with a 1 month follow-up, no relapse or reinfection was observed in 78 per cent of cases. Of 521 patients treated for lower respiratory tract infection, 355 received 200 mg cefixime bid and 166 received a single daily dose of 400 mg. Clinical cure was obtained in 88 per cent and 93 per cent patients with pneumonia or bronchitis respectively, with bacteriological cure in 93.2 and 93.8 per cent. Among ENT infections, the most interesting study was in the treatment of sinusitis and otitis. Good clinical results were shown in nearly 95 per cent of cases, with bacteriological cure in more than 90 per cent. The safety studies demonstrated a global 6.6 per cent incidence of undesirable effect. These manifestations were mild and reversible, consisting of abdominal discomfort and minor diarrhea in most cases. The overall effectiveness of cefixime appears to be similar to that of established compounds as far as susceptible pathogens are concerned. However, in clinical trials, cefixime seemed to be effective on isolated bacteria unresponsive to conventional antibiotics.