A critical review of the new oral cephalosporins. Considerations and place in therapy.

Oral cephalosporins are key antimicrobials in the family physician's therapeutic armamentarium. The list of available agents within this class has been recently expanded to include cefixime, cefprozil, cefpodoxime proxetil, and loracarbef. Each of these antibiotics has differing antimicrobial coverage patterns and approved therapeutic uses. Compared with older, more established antimicrobials such as penicillin, amoxicillin, cefaclor, a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium, and erythromycin, the newer cephalosporins offer little, if any, therapeutic advantage. Clinical efficacy has been shown to be equal in virtually all studies comparing the newer cephalosporins with traditional agents for various community-acquired infections. While the four newer agents may be given less often, they are relatively expensive. In light of the available clinical data, the newer oral cephalosporins should be reserved as second- or third-line choices.