Clinical and bacteriologic efficacy of ceftriaxone in the United States.

The clinical and bacteriologic efficacy of ceftriaxone given once or twice daily was evaluated in 153 studies. A total of 2,635 patients received ceftriaxone given intramuscularly or intravenously, 930 received comparative antibiotics, and 81 received placebo. For the 10 major categories of infections treated (central nervous system, upper and lower respiratory tract, intraabdominal, skin and skin structure, bone and joint, urinary tract, gynecologic, and bacterial sepsis), the clinical response rates were 89 percent or greater. Bacteriologic cure rates were 84 percent or greater overall and 90 percent or greater for seven of 10 categories. Ceftriaxone achieved a satisfactory clinical response (cure or improvement) for 89 (intraabdominal) to 99 percent (urinary tract) of the infections treated. Additionally, pediatric central nervous system infections responded to twice-daily ceftriaxone injection; ceftriaxone, in a single dose as low as 250 mg, cured gonorrhea, and a single dose of ceftriaxone was as effective as multiple doses of cefazolin in surgical prophylaxis.