Cefotiam is a

parenteral A route of administration in pharmacology and toxicology is the way by which a drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body. Routes of administration are generally classified by the location at which the substance is applied. ...

third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic. It has broad-spectrum activity against

Gram-positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. Gram-positive bact ...

and

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wa ...

bacteria. As a

beta-lactam A beta-lactam (β-lactam) ring is a four-membered lactam. A ''lactam'' is a cyclic amide, and ''beta''-lactams are named so because the nitrogen atom is attached to the β-carbon atom relative to the carbonyl. The simplest β-lactam possible i ...

, its bactericidal activity results from the inhibition of cell wall synthesis via affinity for

penicillin-binding proteins Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) are a group of proteins that are characterized by their affinity for and binding of penicillin. They are a normal constituent of many bacteria; the name just reflects the way by which the protein was discove ...

. It was patented in 1973 and approved for medical use in 1981.

Medical uses

This drug is indicated for prophylaxis for surgical infection, postoperative infections, bacterial

septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

, bone and joint infections, cholangitis,

cholecystitis Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder. Symptoms include right upper abdominal pain, pain in the right shoulder, nausea, vomiting, and occasionally fever. Often gallbladder attacks (biliary colic) precede acute cholecystitis. The pai ...

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...

prostatitis Prostatitis is an umbrella term for a variety of medical conditions that incorporate bacterial and non-bacterial origin illnesses in the pelvic region. In contrast with the plain meaning of the word (which means "inflammation of the prostate"), the ...

pyelonephritis Pyelonephritis is inflammation of the kidney, typically due to a bacterial infection. Symptoms most often include fever and flank tenderness. Other symptoms may include nausea, burning with urination, and frequent urination. Complications may ...

, respiratory tract infections, skin and soft tissue infections,

cystitis A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects part of the urinary tract. When it affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a bladder infection (cystitis) and when it affects the upper urinary tract it is known as a kidney ...

urethritis Urethritis is the inflammation of the urethra. The most common symptoms include painful or difficult urination and urethral discharge. It is a commonly treatable condition usually caused by infection with bacteria. This bacterial infection is oft ...

, and infections caused by susceptible organisms. It does not have activity against ''

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerug ...

''.

Dosage

For adults, the dose is up to 6 grams daily by intravenous or intramuscular route in divided doses according to severity of infection. In patients with

renal impairment Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

a dose reduction may be needed.

Spectrum of bacterial susceptibility

Cefotiam has a broad spectrum of activity and has been used to treat infections caused by a number of enteric bacteria and bacteria responsible for causing skin infections. The following represents MIC susceptibility data for a few medically significant bacteria. * ''Bacteroides fragilis'': - 16 - >128 μg/ml * ''Clostridium difficile'': >128 μg/ml * ''Staphylococcus aureus'': 0.25 - 32 μg/ml

Adverse effects

Side effects include nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, hypersensitivity reactions,

nephrotoxicity Nephrotoxicity is toxicity in the kidneys. It is a poisonous effect of some substances, both toxic chemicals and medications, on kidney function. There are various forms, and some drugs may affect kidney function in more than one way. Nephrotoxins ...

, convulsions, CNS toxicity, hepatic dysfunction, haematologic disorders, pain at injection site, thrombophloebitis,

pseudomembranous colitis Colitis is swelling or inflammation of the large intestine ( colon). Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases. In a medical context, the label ''colitis'' (without qualificatio ...

, and

superinfection A superinfection is a second infection superimposed on an earlier one, especially by a different microbial agent of exogenous or endogenous origin, that is resistant to the treatment being used against the first infection. Examples of this in bact ...

with prolonged use.

Mechanism of action

Cefotiam inhibits final cross-linking stage of

peptidoglycan Peptidoglycan or murein is a unique large macromolecule, a polysaccharide, consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like peptidoglycan layer outside the plasma membrane, the rigid cell wall (murein sacculus) characteristic of most ba ...

production, thus inhibiting bacterial cell wall synthesis. It has similar or less activity against Gram-positive

staphylococci ''Staphylococcus'' is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillales. Under the microscope, they appear spherical ( cocci), and form in grape-like clusters. ''Staphylococcus'' species are facultati ...

and streptococci, but is resistant to some

beta-lactamases Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteria that provide multi-resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamycins, monobactams and carbapenems ( ertapenem), although carbapenems ...

produced by Gram-negative bacteria. It is more active against many of the Enterobacteriaceae including ''

Enterobacter ''Enterobacter'' is a genus of common Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. It is the type genus of the order Enterobacterales. Several strains of these bacteria are ...

, E. coli,

Klebsiella ''Klebsiella'' is a genus of Gram-negative, oxidase-negative, rod-shaped bacteria with a prominent polysaccharide-based capsule. ''Klebsiella'' species are found everywhere in nature. This is thought to be due to distinct sublineages developi ...

, Salmonella'' and indole-positive ''

Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...

'' species. In clinical use, high concentrations of cefotiam are observed in several tissues (kidney, heart, ear, prostate, and genital tract), as well as in fluids and secretions (bile, ascitic fluid).

References

External links

* * * {{CephalosporinAntiBiotics Thiazoles Tetrazoles Cephalosporin antibiotics