[Clinical evaluation of cefoxitin in children (author's transl)].

Cefoxitin (CFX) was evaluated for its safety and efficacy in children. Fifteen patients were treated with 73-125 mg/kg per day of CFX by intravenous administrations. The diagnosis of the patients were acute pharyngitis (4), pneumonia (2), pertussis and pneumonia (1), urinary tract infection (3); and the remaining 5 patients were esteemed to have nonbacterial infections. All the 10 patients of bacterial infections were cured after the CFX therapy. The pathogens recovered were Streptococcus pyogenes (1), Streptococcus pneumoniae (3), Haemophilus influenzae (2), Escherichia coli (2), enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (1), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (1). All the strains isolated were susceptible to CFX, but the 2 isolates of Haemophilus influenzae had relatively high MIC values (12.5 mcg/ml). Diarrhea (3 cases) and transient neutropenia (1 case) were found to be associated with the CFX therapy. However, no severe adverse reactions were encountered. Half-life of the serum level was short (24.1 minutes) and excretion into the urine was rapid. CSF concentration obtained 30 minutes after an intravenous injection of 50 mg/kg of CFX in 1 case with inflamed meninges was considerably high (8.3 mcg/ml). CFX appears to be a safe and effective antibiotic when used in children with susceptible bacterial infections.