Pharmacokinetic and clinical studies on cefmenoxime in neonates and premature infants

Pharmacokinetic and clinical studies on cefmenoxime (CMX) in neonates and premature infants were conducted. The results are summarized as follows. 1. Intravenous administration of CMX at 20 mg/kg, via bolus injection or 1-hour drip infusion, produced at sufficiently high blood concentration. As it is the case with other cephem antibiotics, the half-life varied with age and tended to become shorter with aging. 2. There were intergroup differences in urinary recovery of the drug, but urinary concentrations were generally high. 3. In the clinical evaluation, 12 out of 15 cases which were evaluable for efficacy were rated “excellent” or “good”. 4. Side effects were evaluated in 27 cases. A bleeding tendency was found in 1 case, eosinophilia in 1 case, elevated GOT in 1 case, and positive PIVKA II in 4 cases. It is, therefore, concluded that CMX is a highly useful drug for the treatment of bacterial infections in neonates and premature infants.