[Clinical evaluation of ceftriaxone in the pediatric field]

Ceftriaxone (Ro 13-9904, CTRX), developed by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. in Switzerland, was used for the pediatric infections and the following results were obtained. The mean blood level of CTRX in 2 children after a 60-minute intravenous drip infusion with 20 mg/kg was 58.6 micrograms/ml at 30 minutes, 75.0 micrograms/ml at 1 hour, 39.85 micrograms/ml at 2 hours, 27.74 micrograms/ml at 4 hours, 20.71 micrograms/ml at 6 hours, 11.72 micrograms/ml at 12 hours and 3.91 micrograms/ml at 24 hours while the half-life time was 5.9 hours in one child and 7.6 hours in the other. CTRX was used in 22 children with acute infections consisting of 3 with acute pharyngeal tonsillitis, 4 with acute bronchitis, 8 with bronchopneumonia, 6 with infections of skin soft tissue and 1 with salmonellosis. The results were excellent in 5 cases and good in 17, indicating an efficacy rate of 100%. Out of 10 cases where the causative strains were detected, 4 cases were followed about the activities of the respective bacteria, i.e., H. influenzae, Streptococcus group A, S. aureus and Salmonella group B, all of which were eradicated after the end of administration. The daily dose of CTRX ranged from 30 to 50 mg/kg and generally a larger dose was used for serious infections. CTRX was administered twice daily in 20 out of 22 cases, by an intravenous injection in 4 and an intravenous drip infusion in 18, for 2 to 4 days in 16 and 5 to 8 1/2 days in 6. No clinical adverse reactions were observed while the laboratory test found a slight elevation of GOT in one and that of GOT and GPT in another. From the above results, CTRX was judged to be a highly useful drug for treatment of pediatric infections.