Cephalosporins are one of the most widely prescribed classes of medications in the world.
Chances are you have encountered theseantibioticseven if you are unfamiliar with the name.
Additionally, ceftriaxone is used to treatpneumonia.
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What Are Cephalosporins?
Cephalosporins were first discovered in sewer water off the coast of Sardinia in 1945.
By 1964, the first cephalosporin was prescribed.
Cephalosporins are structurally similar to other antibiotics.
Like penicillins, cephalosporins have a beta-lactam ring attached to a dihyrdothiazole ring.
Cephalosporins have three different mechanisms of action.
They are:
Cephalosporins are divided into five generations.
One to 3% of all people are allergic to cephalosporins.
In reality, however, this number is probably higher because people with penicillin allergies areoften not prescribed cephalosporins.
First-Generation Cephalosporins
First-generation cephalosporins come in oral and intravenous forms.
They are active against Viridans streptococci, group A hemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus,E.
coli, Klebsiella and Proteus bacteria.
Like all other cephalosporins, first-generation cephalosporins don’t work on enterococci.
The prevalence ofMRSAhas diminished the efficacy of first-generation cephalosporins as a means of prophylaxis and treatment.
For example, second-generation cephalosporins are active against strains of Proteus and Klebsiella.
Second-generation cephalosporins also combat H. influenzaa cause of pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis.
Nevertheless, first-generation cephalosporins are generally still better at treating gram-positive infections.
Third-Generation Cephalosporins
A major advantage of third- and fourth-generation antibiotics is significantly expanded coverage against gram-negative bacteria.
P. aeruginosa most commonly occurs in patients who have been hospitalized one week or longer).
The infections can be highly complicated and life-threatening.
Ceftazidime also can be used as part of a combination therapy with avibactam when treatingP.
aeruginosa.Its combination use in treating carbapenemase-producingEnterobacteriaceae(CPE) infections (like OXA-48) remains under study.
There are several third-generation cephalosporins.
Discussing them all would be outside the scope of this article.
Like the third-generation cephalosporin ceftazidime, cefepime is active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Furthermore, cefepime is more active against Enterobacter and Citrobacterr bacteria.
Finally, cefepime has gram-positive coverage comparable with ceftriaxone.
Like cefepime, ceftaroline is a potent antibiotic that should be reserved for serious infection.
Specifically, it’s active against multidrug-resistant infections like MRSA (methicillin-resistantS.
aureus) and VRSA (vancomycin-resistantS.
This drug is also injectable and prescribed to fight community-acquired pneumonia and serious skin and soft tissue infections.
Ceftaroline is considered safe and effective but some infections do show resistance with its use.
(Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses.)
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“Use and Importance of Cephalosporins in Human Medicine” Presentation.
