Clinical investigation of cefuroxime axetil (Cxm-Ax) in upper and lower respiratory infections

The therapeutic effects of cefuroxime axetil (CXM-AX), an ester derivative of cefuroxime, which was developed in the United Kingdom as a new oral cephem, on respiratory and urinary tract infections were evaluated. A daily dose of 750—1500 milligrams of cefuroxime axetil was given to a total of 56 cases consisting of three patients with acute tonsillitis, 14 patients with acute pharyngitis, 18 patients with acute bronchitis, 10 patients with chronic respiratory tract infections, seven patients with acute pneumonia and four patients with acute cystitis. The clinical effects were excellent in six patients, good in 36, fair in four and poor in six patients with respiratory infections, and excellent in all of the four patients with urinary tract infections. In respiratory infections, a total of 19 microbes which consisted of six strains of H. influenzae, three strains each of S. aureus and S. pneumoniae, two strains of E. faecalis and one strain each of S. epidermidis, K. oxytoca, Pseudomonas sp., Acinetobacter sp. and unidentified GNB were identified as causative organisms. But two of them were excluded from bacteriological evaluation. Fourteen of the remaining 17 strains were eradicated by treatment with cefuroxime axetil. As regards urinary tract infections, four strains of E. coli were identified as causative organisms. All of them were eradicated by treatment with cefuroxime axetil. No side effect whatsoever was observed. An elevation of values of the activity of enzymes released from the liver was observed in three patients, and eosinophilia, in one patient. These changes returned to normal after completion of therapy with cefuroxime axetil. From the above results, it was concluded that cefuroxime axetil is one of the most useful antibiotics for oral use in the treatment of outpatients with upper and lower respiratory infections.