Therapeutic efficacy of cefpodoxime proxetil in cutaneous bacterial infection

Abstract

A group of 131 patients with various cutaneous bacterial infections seen at 14 institutions in Miyagi prefecture, Japan, were treated with an orally active third generation cephalosporin antibiotic cefpodoxime proxetil (Banan), newly developed in Japan. Doses of 200 or 400 nig/day were administered for periods of 2–56 days. Of 128 cases evaluated, the skin lesions were cured in 62, markedly improved in 40, improved in 18, slightly improved in 5, unchanged in 3 and worsened in none. The number of cases evaluated as ‘improved’ or better was 120, an effectiveness of 93.8%. From the infected lesions, 150 strains of bacteria were isolated and we confirmed the high effectiveness of this drug not only against Gram-positive bacteria but also against single and mixed infections of Gram-negative bacteria. Adverse reactions were observed in 3 of 128 cases (2.3%); these were dizziness, diarrhoea and abdominal pain, none of which was serious, remitting readily after withdrawal of the drug. No abnormal laboratory test results attributable to the test drug were observed. From the results of this study, we conclude that cefpodoxime proxetil is a reliable and safe antibiotic for the systemic treatment of cutaneous bacterial infection.

Key Words:

• Cutaneous bacterial infections
• Antibiotics
• Systemic treatment