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Cefotaxime
- indication:Used to treat gonorrhoea, meningitis, and severe infections including infections of the kidney (pyelonephritis) and urinary system. Also used before an operation to prevent infection after surgery.
- pharmacologypharmacology:
- mechanism: The bactericidal activity of cefotaxime results from the inhibition of cell wall synthesis via affinity for penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs). Cefotaxime shows high affinity for penicillin-binding proteins in the cell wall including PBP Ib and PBP III.
- toxicity: Adverse effects following overdosage include nausea, vomiting, epigastric distress, diarrhea, and convulsions. Oral rat LD<sub>50</sub> is over 20,000 mg/kg while intravenous rat LD<sub>50</sub> is over 7,000 mg/kg.
- absorprion: Rapidly absorbed following intramuscular injection.
- halflife: Approximately 1 hour.
- roouteelimination: Approximately 20-36% of an intravenously administered dose of 14C-cefotaxime is excreted by the kidney as unchanged cefotaxime and 15-25% as the desacetyl derivative, the major metabolite.
- volumedistribution:
- clearance: