Cefotetan is an injectable

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

of the

cephamycin Cephamycins are a group of β-lactam antibiotics. They are very similar to cephalosporins, and the cephamycins are sometimes classified as cephalosporins. Like cephalosporins, cephamycins are based upon the cephem nucleus. Unlike most cephalospor ...

type for prophylaxis and treatment of

bacterial infection Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and are often beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number of ...

s. It is often grouped together with second-generation

cephalosporin The cephalosporins (sg. ) are a class of β-lactam antibiotics originally derived from the fungus ''Acremonium'', which was previously known as ''Cephalosporium''. Together with cephamycins, they constitute a subgroup of β-lactam antibiotics ...

s and has a similar antibacterial spectrum, but with additional anti-anaerobe coverage. Cefotetan was developed by Yamanouchi. It is marketed outside Japan by

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...

with the brand names Apatef and Cefotan.

Adverse effects

The chemical structure of cefotetan, like that of several other cephalosporins, contains an ''N''-methylthiotetrazole (NMTT or 1-MTT)

side chain In organic chemistry and biochemistry, a side chain is a chemical group that is attached to a core part of the molecule called the "main chain" or backbone. The side chain is a hydrocarbon branching element of a molecule that is attached to a l ...

. As the antibiotic is broken down in the body, it releases free NMTT, which can cause

hypoprothrombinemia Hypoprothrombinemia is a rare blood disorder in which a deficiency in immunoreactive prothrombin (Factor II), produced in the liver, results in an impaired blood clotting reaction, leading to an increased physiological risk for spontaneous bleedin ...

(likely due to

inhibition Inhibitor or inhibition may refer to: In biology * Enzyme inhibitor, a substance that binds to an enzyme and decreases the enzyme's activity * Reuptake inhibitor, a substance that increases neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of a neurotra ...

of the

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

vitamin K epoxide reductase Vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) is an enzyme () that reduces vitamin K after it has been oxidised in the carboxylation of glutamic acid residues in blood coagulation enzymes. VKOR is a member of a large family of predicted enzymes that are pre ...

) and a reaction with ethanol similar to that produced by

disulfiram Disulfiram is a medication used to support the treatment of chronic alcoholism by producing an acute sensitivity to ethanol (drinking alcohol). Disulfiram works by inhibiting the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, causing many of the effects of ...

(Antabuse), due to inhibition of

aldehyde dehydrogenase Aldehyde dehydrogenases () are a group of enzymes that catalyse the oxidation of aldehydes. They convert aldehydes (R–C(=O)) to carboxylic acids (R–C(=O)). The oxygen comes from a water molecule. To date, nineteen ALDH genes have be ...

Spectrum of bacterial susceptibility

Cefotetan has a broad spectrum of activity and has been used to treat bacterial infections of the bone, skin, urinary tract, and lower respiratory tract. Notable species include ''Bacteroides, Streptococcus'', and ''Escherichia''. The following represents MIC susceptibility data for a few medically significant bacteria. * ''Escherichia coli'': 0.06 µg/mL * ''Bacteroides fragilis'': ≤0.06 µg/mL - 512 µg/mL * ''Clostridium perfringens'': 1 µg/mL - 4 µg/mL

References

External links

Cefotan official web site
run by

US
Cefotetan
entry in RxList {{CephalosporinAntiBiotics Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitors Cephalosporin antibiotics Tetrazoles AstraZeneca brands Dithietanes