Cefdinir vs cephalexin for the treatment of urinary tract infections: A retrospective evaluation.

PURPOSE: Cefdinir and cephalexin are cephalosporin antibiotics commonly used in the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Their efficacy depends on achieving sufficient time with concentrations exceeding the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Despite being frequently prescribed for UTIs, cefdinir has markedly lower urine penetration compared to cephalexin. It is possible that differences in pharmacokinetics could result in dissimilar efficacy between these agents; however, comparative studies of cephalosporins in UTIs are lacking. METHODS: This was a retrospective comparative study of patients discharged from emergency departments within a community health system with a diagnosis of acute cystitis who were prescribed cefdinir or cephalexin. Treatment failure rates at 7 and 14 days were compared between the 2 agents using a χ2 or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. RESULTS: There were no differences in overall treatment failure between the cefdinir and cephalexin groups. Treatment failure at 7 days occurred in 11.6% (n = 14) of patients in the cefdinir group and 8.3% (n = 10) of patients in the cephalexin group (P = 0.389). Treatment failure at 14 days was higher for cefdinir at 20.7% (n = 25) than for cephalexin at 11.8% (n = 14), but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.053). There were no differences in the rate of treatment failure in subgroup analyses of uncomplicated or complicated UTIs. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that cefdinir and cephalexin have comparable efficacy for the treatment of lower UTIs. While there was a numerically higher rate of treatment failure with cefdinir, there were no significant differences in treatment failure between the agents.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and components in rural, semi-urban and urban areas in the littoral region in Cameroon: impact of physical activity.

BACKGROUND: Living areas in developing countries impact seriously lifestyle by modifying energy consumption and energy expenditure. Thus, urbanization is associated with less practice of physical activity (PA), a leading cause of metabolic syndrome (MetS) which prevalence vary in African countries. The present study aimed to assess the effect of PA on MetS according to urbanization level in the littoral region, Cameroon. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three geographical settings (urban, semi-urban, and rural) in the littoral region in Cameroon. A total of 879 participants were included (urban: 372, semi-urban: 195 and rural: 312). MetS was defined according to the International Federation of Diabetes 2009. The level of PA was assessed using the Global Physical Activity questionnaire. RESULTS: Low level of PA was (P < 0.0001) reported in urban (54.5%), semi-urban (28.7%) and rural (16.9%) and high level in rural area (77.9%). The prevalence of MetS was higher in urban areas (37.2%), then rural (36.8%) and finally semi-urban (25.9%). Hyperglycemia (p = 0.0110), low HDL-c (p < 0.0001) and high triglyceridemia (p = 0.0068) were most prevalent in urban residents. Participants with low level of PA were at risk of MetS (OR: 1.751, 95% CI 1.335-2.731, p = 0.001), hyperglycemia (OR: 1.909, 95% CI 1.335-2.731, p = 0.0004) abdominal obesity(OR: 2.007, 95% CI 1.389-2.900, p = 0.0002), low HDL-c (OR: 1.539, 95% CI 1.088-2.179, p = 0.014) and those with moderate level of PA were protected against high blood pressure(OR: 0.452, 95% CI 0.298-0.686, p = 0.0002) and compared to those with high level of PA. Urban dwellers were at the risk of MetS compared to rural residents (OR: 1.708, 95% CI. 1.277-2.285, p = 0.003) and protected against high blood pressure (OR:0.314, 95% CI 0.212-0.466, p < 0.0001), abdominal obesity (OR: 0.570, 95% CI 0.409-0.794, p = 0.0009), and low HDL-c (OR: 0.725, 95% CI 0.534-0.983, p = 0.038) compared to rural residents. CONCLUSIONS: MetS was more prevalent in urban dwellers and was associated with a low level of PA.

Renin-angiotensin inhibitors reduce thrombotic complications in Essential Thrombocythemia and Polycythemia Vera patients with arterial hypertension.

Essential Thrombocythemia (ET) and Polycythemia Vera (PV) are chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) characterized by thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications, leading to a high risk of disability and mortality. Although arterial hypertension was found to be the most significant modifiable cardiovascular (CV) risk factor in the general population, little is known about its role in MPNs as well as a possible role of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) in comparison with other anti-hypertensive treatments. We investigated a large cohort of 404 MPN adult patients, 133 diagnosed with PV and 271 with ET. Over half of the patients (53.7%) reported hypertension at MPN diagnosis. The 15-year cumulative incidence of thrombotic-adverse events (TAEs) was significantly higher in patients with hypertension (66.8 ± 10.3% vs 38.5 ± 8.4%; HR = 1.83; 95%CI 1.08-3.1). Multivariate analysis showed that PV diagnosis and hypertension were independently associated with a higher risk of developing TAEs (HR = 3.5; 95%CI 1.928-6.451, p < 0.001 and HR = 1.8; 95%CI 0.983-3.550, p = 0.05, respectively). In multivariate analysis, the diagnosis of PV confirmed a significant predictive role in developing TAEs (HR = 4.4; 95%CI 1.92-10.09, p < 0.01), also considering only MPN patients with hypertension. In addition, we found that the use of RASi showed a protective effect from TAEs both in the whole cohort of MPN with hypertension (HR = 0.46; 95%CI 0.21-0.98, p = 0.04) and in the subgroup of thrombotic high-risk score patients (HR = 0.49; 95%CI 0.24-1.01, p = 0.04). In particular, patients with ET and a high risk of thrombosis seem to benefit most from RASi treatment (HR = 0.27; 95%CI 0.07-1.01, p = 0.03). Hypertension in MPN patients represents a significant risk factor for TAEs and should be adequately treated.

The L-shaped correlation between systolic blood pressure and short-term and long-term mortality in patients with cerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: A large amount of evidence has shown the necessity of lowering blood pressure (BP) in patients with acute cerebral hemorrhage, but whether reducing BP contributes to lower short-term and long-term mortality in these patients remains uncertain. AIMS: We aimed to explore the association between BP, including systolic and diastolic BP, during intensive care unit (ICU) admission and 1-month and 1-year mortality after discharge of patients with cerebral hemorrhage. METHODS: A total of 1085 patients with cerebral hemorrhage were obtained from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database. Maximum and minimum values of systolic and diastolic BP in these patients during their ICU stay were recorded, and endpoint events were defined as the 1-month mortality and 1-year mortality after the first admission. Multivariable adjusted models were performed for the association of BP with the endpoint events. RESULTS: We observed that patients with hypertension were likely to be older, Asian or Black and had worse health insurance and higher systolic BP than those without hypertension. The logistic regression analysis showed inverse relationships between systolic BP-min (odds ratio (OR) = 0.986, 95% CI 0.983-0.989, P < 0.001) and diastolic BP-min (OR = 0.975, 95% CI 0.968-0.981, P < 0.001) and risks of 1-month, as well as 1-year mortality when controlling for confounders including age, sex, race, insurance, heart failure, myocardial infarct, malignancy, cerebral infarction, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Furthermore, smooth curve analysis suggested an approximate L-shaped association of systolic BP with the risk of 1-month mortality and 1-year mortality. Reducing systolic BP in the range of 100-150 mmHg has a lower death risk in these patients with cerebral hemorrhage. CONCLUSION: We observed an L-shaped association between systolic BP levels and the risks of 1-month and 1-year mortality in patients with cerebral hemorrhage, which supported that lowering BP when treating an acute hypertensive response could reduce short-term and long-term mortality.

Machine learning models for differential diagnosis of Cushing's disease and ectopic ACTH secretion syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Using machine learning (ML) to explore the noninvasive differential diagnosis of Cushing's disease (CD) and ectopic corticotropin (ACTH) secretion (EAS) model is the next hot research topic. This study was to develop and evaluate ML models for differentially diagnosing CD and EAS in ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome (CS). METHODS: Two hundred sixty-four CD and forty-seven EAS were randomly divided into training and validation and test datasets. We applied 8 ML algorithms to select the most suitable model. The diagnostic performance of the optimal model and bilateral petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS) were compared in the same cohort. RESULTS: Eleven adopted variables included age, gender, BMI, duration of disease, morning cortisol, serum ACTH, 24-h UFC, serum potassium, HDDST, LDDST, and MRI. After model selection, the Random Forest (RF) model had the most extraordinary diagnostic performance, with a ROC AUC of 0.976 ± 0.03, a sensitivity of 98.9% ± 4.4%, and a specificity of 87.9% ± 3.0%. The serum potassium, MRI, and serum ACTH were the top three most important features in the RF model. In the validation dataset, the RF model had an AUC of 0.932, a sensitivity of 95.0%, and a specificity of 71.4%. In the complete dataset, the ROC AUC of the RF model was 0.984 (95% CI 0.950-0.993), which was significantly higher than HDDST and LDDST (both p < 0.001). There was no significant statistical difference in the comparison of ROC AUC between the RF model and BIPSS (baseline ROC AUC 0.988 95% CI 0.983-1.000, after stimulation ROC AUC 0.992 95% CI 0.983-1.000). This diagnostic model was shared as an open-access website. CONCLUSIONS: A machine learning-based model could be a practical noninvasive approach to distinguishing CD and EAS. The diagnostic performance might be close to BIPSS.

Clinical Trial to Reconfirm the Efficacy and Safety of Cefetamet Pivoxil Treatment in Sinusitis Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Parallel Designed, Multicenter, Active Comparator Study (CASIS Study).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of cefetamet pivoxil for the treatment of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis in Korean patients compared to treatment with cefdinir. METHODS: A prospective, multicenter, randomized double-blind, comparative study was conducted by the Departments of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at 17 hospitals or universities in the Republic of Korea from March 2017 to April 2019. A total of 309 patients were screened and 249 patients participated in the study. RESULTS: Treatment with cefetamet pivoxil for 2 weeks showed 82.4% clinical cure and improvement rates in patients with acute bacterial rhinosinusitis compared to 84.68% in those taking cefdinir for 2 weeks, showing that cefetamet pivoxil administered twice a day for 2 weeks was as effective as cefdinir 3 times a day for 2 weeks for the treatment of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. The overall adverse reaction rates of both drugs were 10.56% in the cefetamet pivoxil group and 15.49% in the cefdinir group, without serious adverse events or drug reactions. CONCLUSIONS: Cefetamet pivoxil twice a day was as efficacious and safe as cefdinir 3 times a day for the treatment of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis, which suggested that cefetamet pivoxil may be a suitable alternative to cefdinir.

Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE) Technique to Quantify Cefdinir in Human Plasma Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

A biosensitive analysis method development and validation was performed for accurate and rapid quantification of cefdinir (CDR) in human plasma by a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry technique coupled with electrospray ionization. Analysis was carried out using a C18 column with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and operating temperature of 30.0 ± 1°C. The drug was eluted by optimizing the m/z ratios of 396.20 â†’ 227.20 and 428.17 â†’ 241.10, for cefdinir and IS (internal standard), respectively. The intraday precision (%CV) for Cefdinir ranged from 2.8% and 6.7% as lower limit of quantification of quality control (LLOQ QC) and higher level of quantification of quality control (HQC QC), respectively, whereas these value were found to be as 3.0% and 5.6% for LLOQ and HQC, respectively after interday precision. Moreover, accuracy ranged from 107.70% (HQC QC) to 95.5% (LLOQ QC). The extraction mean recovery was found to be 83.91 ± 6.0% for cefdinir and 76.7 ± 6.23% for IS. The drug was stable throughout the analysis period. It was possible to analyze several plasma samples every day since each sample took <2.5 min to run. The method demonstrated successful quantification of CDR in human plasma, followed by pharmacokinetic profiles that were simple, accurate, sensitive and cost-effective.

Influence of Organic Matter on the Sorption of Cefdinir, Memantine and Praziquantel on Different Soil and Sediment Samples.

Pharmaceuticals are known for their great effects and applications in the treatment and suppression of various diseases in human and veterinary medicine. The development and modernization of science and technologies have led to a constant increase in the production and consumption of various classes of pharmaceuticals, so they pose a threat to the environment, which can be subjected to the sorption process on the solid phase. The efficiency of sorption is determined by various parameters, of which the physicochemical properties of the compound and the sorbent are very important. One of these parameters that determine pharmaceutical mobility in soil or sediment is the soil−water partition coefficient normalized to organic carbon (Koc), whose determination was the purpose of this study. The influence of organic matter, suspended in an aqueous solution of pharmaceutical (more precisely: cefdinir, memantine, and praziquantel), was studied for five different types of soil and sediment samples from Croatia. The linear, Freundlich, and Dubinin−Raduskevich sorption isotherms were used to determine specific constants such as the partition coefficient Kd, which directly describes the strength of sorbate and sorbent binding. The linear model proved to be the best with the highest correlation coefficients, R2 > 0.99. For all three pharmaceuticals, a positive correlation between sorption affinity described by Kd and Koc and the amount of organic matter was demonstrated.

Assessment of nationally recommended antibiotics for treatment of UTI in U.S.-Mexico border emergency departments.

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) seen in the emergency department are commonly treated as an outpatient with oral antibiotics. Given that antibiotics are available for over-the-counter purchase in Mexico, there is speculation that potential misuse and overuse of antibiotics in United States-Mexico border areas could lead to antibiotic resistance patterns that would render some empiric treatments for UTIs less effective. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) guideline-recommended antibiotics for treatment of outpatient UTI diagnosed in the emergency department. Data were collected from a county hospital on the U.S.-Mexico border with a metropolitan area of over 2 million people. Secondary analysis included frequency of urine culture isolated, resistance rates of urine pathogens, and prescriber habits. METHODS: This study was a retrospective chart review of adult patients diagnosed and treated for UTI from August 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020. Culture results of included patients were analyzed against in vitro-tested antibiotics. Bacterial isolate frequency, resistance rates, and prescribing habits were collected. RESULTS: A total of 985 patient charts were reviewed, of which 520 patients met inclusion criteria for analysis of prescribing habits. Of these, 329 positive bacterial culture growths were included in the analysis of antibiotic resistance rates. Oral antibiotics with comparatively lower resistance rates were amoxicillin/clavulanate, cefdinir, cefuroxime, and nitrofurantoin. Oral antibiotics with notably high resistance rates included trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and cephalexin. Nitrofurantoin was prescribed most frequently for outpatient treatment of UTI/cystitis (41.6%) while cephalexin was the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for outpatient treatment of pyelonephritis (50%). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that, while part of standard IDSA guidelines, fluoroquinolones and TMP-SMX are not ideal empiric antibiotics for treatment of outpatient UTI in the U.S.-Mexico border region studied due to high resistance rates. Although not listed as first line agents per current IDSA recommendations, 2nd and 3rd generation cephalosporins, and amoxicillin/clavulanate would be acceptable options given resistance patterns demonstrated in accordance with IDSA allowance for tailoring selection to local resistance. Nitrofurantoin appears to be consistent with recommendations and demonstrates a favorable resistance profile for treatment of outpatient UTI within this region.

Sorption of cefdinir, memantine, praziquantel and trimethoprim in sediment and soil samples.

The everyday use of various pharmaceuticals to treat humans or animals means that they are increasingly found in the environment. Contamination of the soil can cause the active ingredients to be strongly sorbed to the soil or sediment. In the worst case, they can also be expected to occur in the aquatic environment due to their different polarity. In this study, four drugs from different therapeutic classes (trimetoprim, memantine, cefdinir, praziquantel) were used in dissolved form in two sediment and three soil samples to obtain data that can describe their fate and behavior in the environment. The sorption affinities of the pharmaceuticals were described using linear, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich sorption isotherms. The highest Kd values were obtained for cefdinir, while memantine and praziquantel tended to be present in water due to their very low sorption coefficients. The studied influence of pH showed a negative trend for memantine and trimetoprim, while an increase in ionic strength resulted in higher Kd values for all drugs. The sorption mechanism for all tested samples was best described by the pseudo-secondary kinetic model (R2 > 0.9999).

Collaboration with an infection control team promoted appropriate antibiotic use for third molar extraction at a Japanese hospital.

Oral antibiotic therapy is routinely administered when a third molar (M3) is extracted to prevent infectious complications after surgery. Oral third-generation cephalosporins are frequently used after M3 extraction in Japan but at the expense of an increased risk of antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, the infection control team (ICT) at our institution recommended a reduction in use of these agents after M3 extraction. In this study, we compared the types of antibiotic agents prescribed for patients undergoing M3 extraction before and after this recommendation. We investigated the relationship between type of antibiotic used and the likelihood of infectious complications as well as cost savings in patients who underwent M3 extraction in the 6 months before and after the ICT recommendation in July 2018. There was a marked reduction in use of oral third-generation cephalosporins after M3 extraction (P < 0.0001) and increased use of oral penicillins and first-generation cephalosporins after the ICT recommendation. Moreover, surgical site infection (SSIs) were significantly less common after the ICT recommendation (P = 0.0099); however, the SSI rate was higher in patients who received a third-generation cephalosporin than in those who received penicillin (8.8% vs 0.5%). There was also a significant saving in per-patient antibiotic costs after the ICT recommendation (269.5 ± 282.0 JPY vs 454.7 ± 376.6 JPY; P < 0.0001). These findings suggest that collaboration with an ICT promotes appropriate antibiotic use, decreases the risk of an SSI, and improves the cost-benefit ratio in patients undergoing M3 extraction.

Pharmacokinetic changes of cefdinir and cefditoren and its molecular mechanisms in acute kidney injury in rats.

OBJECTIVES: Acute kidney injury (AKI) was a common organ damage that often occurred after cisplatin. This study was aimed at investigating the pharmacokinetic changes of cefdinir and cefditoren in AKI rats, and elucidating the possible molecular mechanisms. METHODS: The renal injury model was established by intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin (12 mg/kg). Plasma creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, the mRNA expression of Kim-1, hematoxylin and eosin staining and Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay were used to measure the degree of renal damage. On this basis, the pharmacokinetic changes of cefdinir and cefditoren were investigated in normal and AKI rats. RT-PCR and Western blot were performed to clarify the molecular mechanisms for the changes in the related transporters expression. KEY FINDINGS: The cumulative urinary excretion of cefdinir was significantly decreased and the plasma concentration was remarkably increased in AKI rats. The expression of organic anion transporter 1 (Oat1) and Oat3 in kidney was decreased. However, pharmacokinetics of cefditoren was not influenced. The expression of organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1a1 (Oatp1a1), Oatp1a4, Oatp1b2 and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (Mrp2) in liver was unchanged in AKI rats. CONCLUSIONS: The molecular mechanism of decreased expression of Oat1 and Oat3 was achieved through activating p53, and then increasing the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 and down regulating Bcl-2 in AKI rats. On this basis, the cumulative urinary excretion of cefdinir was significantly decreased and the plasma concentration of cefdinir was remarkably increased in AKI rats. However, the pharmacokinetic changes of cefditoren were not observed. Accordingly, cephalosporin antibiotics such as cefditoren should be firstly selected for the treatment in patients with AKI in clinic.

Antibiotics-First Versus Surgery for Appendicitis: A US Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Allowing Outpatient Antibiotic Management.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Randomized trials suggest that nonoperative treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis with antibiotics-first is safe. No trial has evaluated outpatient treatment and no US randomized trial has been conducted, to our knowledge. This pilot study assessed feasibility of a multicenter US study comparing antibiotics-first, including outpatient management, with appendectomy. METHODS: Patients aged 5 years or older with uncomplicated appendicitis at 1 US hospital were randomized to appendectomy or intravenous ertapenem greater than or equal to 48 hours and oral cefdinir and metronidazole. Stable antibiotics-first-treated participants older than 13 years could be discharged after greater than or equal to 6-hour emergency department (ED) observation with next-day follow-up. Outcomes included 1-month major complication rate (primary) and hospital duration, pain, disability, quality of life, and hospital charges, and antibiotics-first appendectomy rate. RESULTS: Of 48 eligible patients, 30 (62.5%) consented, of whom 16 (53.3%) were randomized to antibiotics-first and 14 (46.7%) to appendectomy. Median age was 33 years (range 9 to 73 years), median WBC count was 15,000/µL (range 6,200 to 23,100/µL), and median computed tomography appendiceal diameter was 10 mm (range 7 to 18 mm). Of 15 antibiotic-treated adults, 14 (93.3%) were discharged from the ED and all had symptom resolution. At 1 month, major complications occurred in 2 appendectomy participants (14.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8% to 42.8%) and 1 antibiotics-first participant (6.3%; 95% CI 0.2% to 30.2%). Antibiotics-first participants had less total hospital time than appendectomy participants, 16.2 versus 42.1 hours, respectively. Antibiotics-first-treated participants had less pain and disability. During median 12-month follow-up, 2 of 15 antibiotics-first-treated participants (13.3%; 95% CI 3.7% to 37.9%) developed appendicitis and 1 was treated successfully with antibiotics; 1 had appendectomy. No more major complications occurred in either group. CONCLUSION: A multicenter US trial comparing antibiotics-first to appendectomy, including outpatient management, is feasible to evaluate efficacy and safety.

Facial vein thrombophlebitis: an uncommon complication of sinusitis.

Facial vein thrombophlebitis is an uncommon complication of sinusitis. In cases where periorbital swelling complicating sinusitis is diagnosed, clinical findings of swelling and erythema extending beyond the orbital region into the cheek should alert the physician about this unusual complication and the need for further contrast-enhanced imaging and venography. The radiologist must be particularly careful in the evaluation of vascular structures of the face and neck in these children. CT and MRI with contrast material and MR venography are studies that clearly demonstrate the vascular anatomy and possible complications. However, MR venography confirms flow abnormalities within the venous system with the advantage of avoiding radiation exposure to the pediatric patient.

Achromobacter buckle infection diagnosed by a 16S rDNA clone library analysis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: In clinical settings, bacterial infections are usually diagnosed by isolation of colonies after laboratory cultivation followed by species identification with biochemical tests. However, biochemical tests result in misidentification due to similar phenotypes of closely related species. In such cases, 16S rDNA sequence analysis is useful. Herein, we report the first case of an Achromobacter-associated buckle infection that was diagnosed by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. This report highlights the significance of Achromobacter spp. in device-related ophthalmic infections. CASE PRESENTATION: A 56-year-old woman, who had received buckling surgery using a silicone solid tire for retinal detachment eighteen years prior to this study, presented purulent eye discharge and conjunctival hyperemia in her right eye. Buckle infection was suspected and the buckle material was removed. Isolates from cultures of preoperative discharge and from deposits on the operatively removed buckle material were initially identified as Alcaligenes and Corynebacterium species. However, sequence analysis of a 16S rDNA clone library using the DNA extracted from the deposits on the buckle material demonstrated that all of the 16S rDNA sequences most closely matched those of Achromobacter spp. We concluded that the initial misdiagnosis of this case as an Alcaligenes buckle infection was due to the unreliability of the biochemical test in discriminating Achromobacter and Alcaligenes species due to their close taxonomic positions and similar phenotypes. Corynebacterium species were found to be contaminants from the ocular surface. CONCLUSIONS: Achromobacter spp. should be recognized as causative agents for device-related ophthalmic infections. Molecular species identification by 16S rDNA sequence analysis should be combined with conventional cultivation techniques to investigate the significance of Achromobacter spp. in ophthalmic infections.

Cefdinir-induced hepatotoxicity: potential hazards of inappropriate antibiotic use.

Drug-induced hepatotoxicity is well recognized but can cause some diagnostic problems, particularly if not previously reported. The present case involves a 22-year-old male who presented with jaundice and elevated liver enzymes after a course of cefdinir (Omnicef) for streptococcal pharyngitis. A diagnosis of drug-induced liver injury was suspected but a liver biopsy was required after his jaundice worsened despite cessation of the presumed offending agent. A short course of steroids was initiated and eventually the jaundice resolved. This case highlights the need to suspect medication-induced liver injury in cases of jaundice, even if not previously reported. In addition, it illustrates the potential for adverse outcomes in situations where antibiotics are used inappropriately or where first line antibiotics are not used for routine infections. We report a case of a young male who developed jaundice associated with cefdinir use with pathological confirmation of moderate cholestasis with portal and lobular mixed inflammation and focal bile duct injury consistent with drug-induced liver injury.

Nonbloody, red stools from coadministration of cefdinir and iron-supplemented infant formulas.

Cefdinir is an extended-spectrum, third-generation cephalosporin that may be used for treatment of acute otitis media in patients allergic to penicillin. When administered with iron-containing products, including infant formulas, cefdinir or one of its metabolites may bind to ferric ions, forming a nonabsorbable complex that imparts a reddish color to the stool. We describe a 9-month-old infant with failure to thrive and acute otitis media who developed an erythematous maculopapular rash during treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanate. His antibiotic therapy was changed to cefdinir. Five days into a 10-day course of therapy, the infant's mother brought him to the pediatric clinic and reported the appearance of red stools. He had no associated gastrointestinal symptoms (vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhea). His hematocrit and hemoglobin level were normal, and Clostridium difficile antigen studies and tests for species of Shigella, Salmonella, and Camphylobacter as well as ova and parasites were all negative. Cefdinir was discontinued, and his stools returned to normal within 48 hours. Three weeks later, he again received cefdinir for recurrent otitis media. Red stools reappeared 48 hours later, were determined to be guaiac negative, and resolved within hours of drug discontinuation. During both occurrences of red stools, the infant had been breastfed and was receiving supplemental feedings with an iron-containing infant formula. In the product labeling of cefdinir, this adverse event is described as a consequence of the drug-drug interaction; however, it is not listed in the adverse drug reaction section of the labeling. As such, one may miss the association between cefdinir and reddish stools when investigating this event as a potential adverse reaction to cefdinir. When using the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale to assess causality in our patient's case, this adverse drug reaction was determined as highly probable. As this infant had been breastfed, the use of a supplemental iron-containing infant formula was not identified as a potential contributing factor until the second occurrence of red stools. Health care professionals should review the entire product labeling, including the drug-drug interaction section, when investigating a potential adverse drug reaction. With the recent approval of generic formulations of cefdinir, clinicians should be aware of this drug-drug interaction with iron-containing products to prevent unnecessary alarm by parents and caregivers, as well as costly medical evaluations for gastrointestinal bleeding.

Cefdinir-associated "bloody stools" in an infant.

Cefdinir, a third-generation oral cephalosporin frequently used in pediatric populations, may cause red stools when administered with iron or products that contain iron, such as infant formula. This benign side effect is not well documented in the medical literature. We describe a 7-month-old girl who was evaluated for red stools while taking cefdinir along with an oral iron supplement.

Effects of amoxicillin and cefdinir on nasopharyngeal bacterial flora.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of cefdinir (14 mg/kg per day) and amoxicillin (90 mg/kg per day) antimicrobial therapy on the nasopharyngeal flora of children with acute otitis media. DESIGN: Nasopharyngeal cultures for aerobic and facultative bacteria were obtained before therapy and 2 to 4 days after completion of therapy. SETTING: Outpatient clinic. PATIENTS: Fifty children, aged 7 months to 5 years 4 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: After completion of therapy, 22 (88%) of the 25 patients treated with cefdinir and 16 (64%) of the 25 patients treated with amoxicillin were considered clinically cured (P<.05). A significant reduction in the number of all isolates occurred following therapy in those treated with cefdinir (36 vs 71, P<.01) or with amoxicillin (56 vs 73, P<.05). However, the total number of isolates recovered after therapy was significantly lower in those treated with cefdinir (36) compared with those treated with amoxicillin (56) (P<.01). RESULTS: The recovery of potential pathogenic organisms (eg, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, beta-hemolytic streptococci, Haemophilus species, and Moraxella catarrhalis), as well as penicillin-resistant bacteria, was lower following completion of therapy in the cefdinir group (6 pathogens, including 5 that were penicillin resistant), compared with the amoxicillin group (27 pathogens, including 16 that were penicillin resistant) (P<.01). CONCLUSION: This study illustrates the greater ability of cefdinir compared with amoxicillin to reduce the number of potential nasopharyngeal pathogens as well as penicillin-resistant bacteria in children with acute otitis media.