CEFACLOR ® Cefacloro

CEFACLOR ® is a Cefacloro monohydrate based drug

THERAPEUTIC GROUP: General antimicrobials for systemic use - Cephalosporins

IndicationsAction mechanismStudies and clinical effectiveness Usage and dosage instructionsWarnings Pregnancy and lactationInteractionsContraindicationsUndesirable effects

Indications CEFACLOR ® Cefacloro

CEFACLOR ® is indicated in the treatment of infections caused by organisms sensitive to cephalosporins.

The efficacy of this antibiotic has been proven for the treatment of respiratory, hearing, integumentary and genito-urinary infections.

Mechanism of action CEFACLOR ® Cefacloro

The cefacloro monohydrate, active ingredient of CEFACLOR ®, is a generally defined second generation cephalosporin, although its chemical-physical and pharmacokinetic properties are similar to the first generation cephalosporins.

The characteristic resistance to acid environments, such as the gastric environment, and the excellent degree of intestinal absorption guarantee the possibility of taking cefacloro orally, allowing a rapid achievement of maximum plasma concentrations and an effective distribution to all tissues.

Persisting in circulation for about 8 hours, it is subsequently excreted unchanged via the kidney.

Being a beta lactam antibiotic, also the cefacloro exerts its microbicidal action compromising the synthesis of the bacterial wall and thus making the microorganism decidedly more sensitive to osmotic gradients so as to determine its own lysis due to osmotic shock.

More precisely, the aforesaid mechanism is achieved through the inhibition of the trans-peptidation reaction useful for stabilizing the structure of the bacterial wall through the formation of cross-linking, capable of providing a greater structural compactness to the bacterial wall of the pathogen.

Despite a biological and therapeutic activity similar to penicillins, the cephalosporins are distinguished both for the wide spectrum of action that guarantees a wider use in the clinical field, and for a natural resistance to the beta-lactamases that support their effectiveness also against those antibiotic-resistant microorganisms.

Studies carried out and clinical efficacy

1. CEFACLOR IN THE TREATMENT OF STREPTOCOCCO FARINGITIS

Minerva Pediatr. 2012 Jun; 64 (3): 341-6.

Work demonstrating how the administration of cefaclor for five days can be as effective as that of amoxicillin / clavulanic acid for 10 days in the treatment of pharyngotonsillitis due to beta hemolytic streptococcus.

2 . THE CEFACLOR IN THE TREATMENT OF INFINITIES OF URINARY TRACKS

Clin Exp Obstet Gynecol. 2007; 34 (2): 85-7.

Interesting study that demonstrates how treatment with Cefaclor can be effective and safe in the treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria and acute cystitis in patients who are hypersensitive to penicillins. Despite the above results, it would still be important to consider the risk of cross reactions between penicillins and cephalosporins.

3. THE CEFACLOR IN THE SHORT-TERM TREATMENT OF MEDIUM OTITIS IN CHILDREN

Infez Med. 2004 Dec; 12 (4): 259-65.

An all-Italian work that demonstrates how Cefaclor can be effective in the short-term treatment of otitis media in children aged between 2 and 6 years. Short-term treatment also appears to be more compliant and better tolerated by patients.

Method of use and dosage

CEFACLOR ®

500 mg coated tablets of cefacloro monohydrate.

Considering a therapeutic range between 2 and 4 grams per day of cefacloro monohydrate, the dosage should be defined by your doctor, based on the patient's physiopathological conditions and the relative clinical picture.

Note the duration of action of the active ingredient, it would be useful to divide the daily dose into several administrations to be taken every 8 hours.

The treatment should be prolonged up to 24-48 hours after the disappearance of the symptomatology, in order to avoid the onset of relapses sustained by resistant microorganisms.

Cautions CEFACLOR ® Cefacloro

Antibiotic treatment with CEFACLOR ® should be supervised by your doctor and preceded by the identification of the pathogen and the antibiogram useful for verifying cephalosporin sensitivity.

Particular caution should be reserved for elderly patients with impaired renal function or with a history of hypersensitivity to antibiotics, given the greater susceptibility to the side effects of the therapy.

If unwanted signs and symptoms appear, including persistent colitis, the patient should contact his doctor with whom to consider the possibility of stopping the therapy.

The inappropriate use of antibiotics could favor the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microbial strains such as to frustrate the therapeutic efficacy of CEFACLOR ®.

PREGNANCY AND BREASTFEEDING

Intake of CEFACLOR ® during pregnancy should always be under strict medical supervision and only in cases of real and inevitable necessity, given the absence of studies able to test the safety profile of this antibiotic on fetal health.

The same precautions should also be observed in the subsequent breastfeeding period given the capacity of the active ingredient to accumulate in breast milk.

Interactions

Also the cefacloro as well as the other beta lactam antibiotics is susceptible to the concomitant assumption of drugs able to alter its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics, therefore also the relative safety profile.

Consequently, the patient receiving CEFACLOR ® should pay particular attention to the simultaneous intake of:

Probenecid, responsible for the pharmacokinetic variations of the active principle and consequently also for the relative safety profile;
Potentially nephrotoxic drugs, able to increase the risk of nephrotoxicity.

It is also useful to remember that antibiotic therapy can compromise the intestinal absorption of oral contraceptives, reducing the effectiveness of the contraceptive coverage and how the presence of food can reduce the systemic absorption of the active ingredient.

Contraindications CEFACLOR ® Cefacloro

The use of CEFACLOR ® is contraindicated in patients who are hypersensitive to penicillins and cephalosporins or their excipients.

Undesirable effects - Side effects

Although cefacloro antibiotic therapy is generally well tolerated and has no particular side effects, treatment with cephalosporins, especially when continued for a long time or carried out at particularly high doses, could lead to the appearance of:

Gastro-enteric disorders such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain;
Hepatic impairment with hypertransaminasemia and hyperbilirubinemia and renal hypercreatinemia;
Headache and dizziness;
Haematological changes such as anemia, agranulocytosis and thrombocytopenia;
Hypersensitivity reactions such as edema, angioedema, bronchospasm, laryngospasm, hypotension and in severe cases anaphylactic shock.