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Are They as Important as Their Numbers Suggest?

MELVIN I. MARKS, MD

Am J Dis Child. 1978;132(12):1169-1171.

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Are you confused by the number of different cephalosporins that have been produced in recent years? I am. But the best (? worst) is still to come. There are approximately ten cephalosporins that are commercially available in the United States at the present time. At least an equal number of derivatives are under study, with several more on the horizon. Yet I cannot think of a pediatric infectious disease where cephalosporins deserve first consideration. Of course, they are frequently prescribed for patients allergic to penicillin, in the initial therapy of high-risk patients (usually combined with an aminoglycoside), and in the prevention of wound infections in contaminated surgical cases. Penicillin allergy and gastrointestinal surgery requiring antibacterial prophylaxis are much more common in adults. The use of cephalosporins alone for high-risk pediatric patients (eg, newborns, leukemia, burns, etc) is dangerous because of the prevalence of Haemophilus infections and the resistance of these . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Departments of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) and Microbiology and Immunology McGill University Montreals Childrens Hospital Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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