Cefixime in the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections

Cefixime is quickly establishing in Western countries as a potent broad-spectrum antibiotic with a variety of indications. A multinational, nonrandomized study in Central and Eastern Europe has confirmed the excellent efficacy of cefixime in both children and adults. In 45 children with acute sinusitis and 50 with acute otitis media, once-daily cefixime in oral suspension resulted in clinical cure or improvement in 45 (100%) and 48 (96%) patients, respectively. In 60 adult patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis and 12 with pneumonia, cefixime 400 mg resulted in cure or improvement in 59 (98%) and 12 (100%) patients, respectively. Similarly, excellent efficacy was found in adults with urinary tract infections (UTI), with cure in 80 (94%) patients, improvement in 4 (5%), and failure in 1 (1%). Very good efficacy of cefixime was also demonstrated microbiologically, with eradication in 35 of 36 isolates from children, including all Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates, 40 of 45 isolates from patients with respiratory tract infections, and 64 of 71 isolates from patients with UTI.