Use of cefoxitin sodium in difficult-to-treat infections

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Abstract
Cefoxitin sodium has been shown to be both resistant to the action of the β-lactamases of nearly all enteric bacilli, including Bacteroides , and active against Gram-negative and Gram-positive aerobic and anaerobic organisms, with the exception of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the enterococci. It should, therefore, be useful in the treatment of mixed-flora abscesses and of infections caused by organisms that have become resistant to the cephalosporins. Thirty-six patients were treated with i.v. cefoxitin in this study: 24 had intra-abdominal abscesses, 4 had intrathoracic abscesses, 5 had urinary tract infections, and 1 each had Gram-negative meningitis (unresponsive to previous therapy), arthritis, and septicaemia caused by organisms resistant to several antibiotics. In two patients with infections of closed spaces (thoracic cavity and knee joint) caused by Serratia marcescens moderately resistant to cefoxitin, resistance to the antibiotic increased. This phenomenon was also demonstrable in vitro . With the exception of these two cases, and two others stemming from infected intravenous catheters, all cases were treated successfully. Cefoxitin sodium appeared to be safe and effective in the treatment of mixed aerobic and anaerobic infections.

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