Cefamandole in the treatment of soft tissue infections

27 male adult patients with acute soft tissue infections including cellulitis, abscesses, ulcers and wound infections were treated with a dose of 2-4 g/day of cefamandole nafate by the intravenous route for a minimum of 10 days. Most patients were seriously ill with underlying conditions like diabetes mellitus, alcoholism and congestive heart failure and required hospitalization and parenteral antibiotics. Gram-positive cocci (predominantly Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacilli were recovered on pretreatment cultures from 81% of the patients. Clinical and bacteriologic response was excellent. Disappearance of the signs of infection occurred by the 7th day of treatment, by day 3 of treatment fever was down to normal, and by day 5 of treatment the WBC count was below 8,000. There were very few side effects noted, and there was excellent tolerance to the intravenous drug administration. Cefamandole nafate is a safe, effective and well-tolerated agent in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections of adult patients caused by susceptible organisms.