What to accept - "Cefazolin" or "Ceftriaxone", or even choose "Orpin" or "Natsef"? There are many analogues, but they differ not only in price, but also in the effect on the human body. If the doctor prescribed Cefazolin intramuscularly, you cannot change it yourself to another medication. Replacement with analogues is possible only with the agreement of the doctor. At the reception, a specialist will tell you how to dilute Cefazolin with lidocaine, which can be replaced with a medication if necessary. If the desired drug is not on sale, you should first consult a doctor, and only there choose the appropriate analogue. “Cefazolin” is one of the rather powerful drugs, and self-medication with them, as well as unauthorized correction of the program prescribed by the doctor are unacceptable.
"Cefazolin": from what and what is it?
The drug is on sale by powder for injection. The vial contains pure cefazolin without impurities. The drug is usually white or yellowish. In tablets in pharmacies there is no medication. Efficiency is due to the fact that the active component belongs to the group of semisynthetic antimicrobial compounds with a wide therapeutic spectrum of action. Most often it is prescribed for infections provoked by various pathogens.
Pharmacology
The active substance, once in the tissues of the body, is in contact with the cells of microbes, inhibiting the synthesis of walls. The best result of Cefazolin injections is shown for gram-positive pathogens, often the therapeutic effect is observed when infected with gram-negative microscopic life forms.
The product is practically not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, so the doctor must tell you at the reception how and how much to inject Cefazolin. Injection is the most effective method of using the medicine. If a single dose of 0.5 g is prescribed, the active component reaches its maximum concentration in the blood after a couple of hours, binds to plasma proteins by 85%. After administration, the substance quickly penetrates into the bones, articular, ascitic fluid, pleura. No information on effects on the nervous system. Half-life occurs in two hours.
When to use?
What is Cefazolin usually prescribed for? The list is quite extensive:
- infectious lesions of the respiratory system;
- urinary and biliary tract infection;
- inflammatory processes diagnosed in the pelvic organs, abdominal cavity;
- sepsis;
- inflammatory damage to the heart membrane;
- peritonitis;
- infection of joints, bone tissue;
- sexually transmitted pathologies;
- infection of the skin against the background of injuries, operations, burns;
- mastitis.
What you need to know
At the appointment, the doctor will explain how to dilute Cefazolin with water for injection, taking into account the particular case. The doctor will select the dosage, talk about the frequency of use and how to properly inject. It is unacceptable to be treated with this antibiotic on your own. The instructions for use, of course, contain a description of some details, but a lot depends on the individual characteristics of the situation, the patient’s body, the nature of the disease, so there is no universal prescription for use.
Special occasion
If Cefazolin is prescribed to children, the dosage is prescribed by the attending physician. The weight and age of the child are taken into account. So, for the treatment of newborns, premature babies, it is necessary to use an antibiotic at the rate of 20 mg per kilogram of live weight. If the weight of the child is more than two kilograms, and the age is older than seven days, then the dose is increased to 60 mg per kilogram.
If an antimicrobial drug is used in the treatment of a severe case, the dosage is 100 mg per kilogram of weight, the daily dose is divided into three or four doses. With a mild form of infection, the drug is used in an amount of 25-50 mg per kilogram of weight, the daily dose is administered in 2-4 doses.
When is it impossible?
It is unacceptable to use "Cefazolin" if hypersensitivity to this antimicrobial compound is revealed. In general, it is advised to avoid the drug when treating children under the age of one month, but in each particular case, the doctor makes a decision, focusing on the severity of the disease and the characteristics of the situation.
How much is?
The price of “Cefazolin”, of course, excites many - both the parents, whose children were prescribed the drug, and the adults who were advised to take it. Medication is available, really inexpensive. On average this year, the price of Cefazolin (one package) is 20-40 rubles, in a package - one gram of powder for dilution.
Unpleasant consequences
Like any other antibiotic, Cefazolin can cause adverse reactions. The digestive system often responds to taking the drug with nausea and vomiting, an allergic reaction can develop. In a relatively small percentage of cases, candidiasis and colitis are diagnosed. The injection site may respond with pain.
Very rarely, the use of “Cefazolin” provokes an effect on the functionality of the liver and can cause anaphylactic shock. There is a risk of developing reversible leukopenia, renal dysfunction, angioedema. From medical practice it is known that the use of "Cefazolin" can cause arthralgia, neutro, thrombocytopenia.
What to replace?
In modern pharmacies, there is a fairly wide variety of drugs that can be used instead of Cefazolin. Most often resort to "Cephalexin" or "Reflin." As an analogue of “Cefazolin” are medicines “Cefamezin”, “Cefasex”. If it is not possible to purchase the prescribed drug, the doctor may advise you to replace it with Cesoline.
The listed analogues of "Cefazolin" on sale are presented mainly in powder form. The antimicrobial substance cefazolin is not sold in tablet form; its substitutes are also (with rare exceptions) not available for oral administration.
Alternative: Ceftriaxone
This analogue of “Cefazolin” is one of the third generation antibiotics and also has a wide range of effects on the human body. It is also inexpensive - about 20 rubles per ampoule containing one gram of the drug. Absorption through the gastrointestinal tract practically does not occur, therefore, the medication is not available in tablets. In addition, it is known that the drug strongly irritates the mucous membranes, which makes it impossible to use it orally.
The bioavailability of the drug is close to one hundred percent. In comparison with analogs, this agent binds better to blood proteins, elimination half-life is delayed for a long time, and Ceftriaxone must be used once or twice a day.
Features of use
It is not recommended to use Ceftriaxone for the treatment of newborns, since the antimicrobial component can change the connection of bilirubin and albumin, displacing the first compound from it. In each case, the doctor makes the decision, telling parents what dangers the therapy will be associated with.
Will it help or not?
"Ceftriaxone" shows a good result when infected with gram-positive, gram-negative pathogens. Inefficiency is known only in inflammatory processes provoked by methicillin-resistant staphylococci, enterococci and D-streptococci (with rare exceptions).
"Rocefin"
This is an imported drug manufactured by a Swiss company. The price for it is appropriate - one package costs about 500 rubles, contains one gram of powder intended for dilution. The medication is also injected, in tablet form it is not released due to low absorption through the digestive tract. Packages presented in pharmacies contain not only the powder itself, but also lidocaine, in which it must be diluted before administration.
Indications for the use of the medication are exactly the same as those described previously. The advantage of the product is a high level of purification, which explains its cost, significantly exceeding domestic medicines.
"Azaran"
Both the spectrum of action and the situations in which “Azaran” will show a positive effect coincide with those listed for the drugs earlier. The active component here is exactly the same, but it is believed that its degree of purification is very high. Currently, "Azaran" is called one of the highest quality medicines containing the antibiotic cefazolin. However, it costs not cheaply - about one and a half thousand per package, which contains one gram of powder for injective administration.
Cefotaxime
This analogue of “Cefazolin” contains the same active active ingredient, so the spectrum of action coincides with the above drugs. It is classified as a third-generation antimicrobial agent. Powder is on sale, as it cannot be effectively absorbed through the digestive system. The drug is characterized by a relatively low percentage of binding to blood proteins in comparison with analogues, which affects the half-life, this interval is about six hours.
"Cefotaxime" shows effectiveness in all of the above pathologies, pathogens that provoke them. In addition, it can be used in the treatment of infection with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. If the disease is severe, up to four injections should be made per day. The dosage, frequency of injections is chosen by the doctor, focusing on the information from the patient’s analyzes, the patient’s condition. One of the important advantages of Cefotaxime is its inability to displace bilirubin from bonds with albumin, so that you can safely use the antibiotic in the treatment of young children. The cost of one package is about 20 rubles.
Cephalexin
One package of such a drug costs about 70 rubles. The drug is on sale in suspension, capsules. This is a first-generation drug, an antimicrobial medication belonging to the cephalosporin group. Oral administration is accompanied by rapid adsorption from the digestive system, after an hour in the blood the highest level of concentration of the active compound is observed. The antibiotic is evenly distributed throughout the patient's body, an increased concentration is fixed in the liver, kidneys.
This drug is more often prescribed if infection of the kidneys or liver is diagnosed. The duration of excretion from the human body is six hours with the normal functioning of the renal system. With dysfunction (full or partial), the half-life is much longer, so the therapeutic course requires adjustment of the dosage and frequency of administration. “Cephalexin” has a slightly narrower spectrum of action compared to the components described above. Its main advantage is the ability to take orally.
Amoxiclav
This tool belongs to the number of penicillin antimicrobial drugs of the combined type. Amoxicillin is present as an active component, the effect of which is enhanced by clauvanic acid. The drug was first used about fifty years ago, so a lot of experience in medical practice has been accumulated.
"Amoksiklav" costs from one hundred rubles and more, on sale it is presented in several forms. There is a powder intended for the preparation of a suspension, there are convenient tablets in use. Active components are well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. The weak side of the antibiotic in the composition of the drug is its susceptibility to the negative effect of beta-lactamase produced by some microorganisms, but it is inhibited by acid, due to which the antimicrobial component remains active.
Application features
Amoxiclav has shown good results in a variety of pathologies of the urinary tract and reproductive system. It helps to eliminate infection, cystitis, pyelonephritis, block inflammatory processes. Amoxiclav is effective against gonorrhea, vaginosis, sepsis, abscess. The drug is recommended for septic abortion, endometritis, chancroid.
During the therapeutic course, it is necessary to regularly check the functionality of the kidneys, liver, and hematopoietic system. When observing a violation, an urgent dose adjustment is required. The tool can be used during gestation, since clinical trials have not shown effects on the child.
How to be treated?
It cannot be said that any of the listed medicines is definitely better than the others. The advantage of some is the spectrum of action, others are inexpensive, and still others are considered to be of high quality and practically do not cause side effects. It is necessary to make a decision in favor of a specific option after consulting with a doctor, and if it is impossible to purchase the remedy recommended by him, you should clarify what is suitable as an analogue. The doctor, evaluating the features of a particular diagnosis, will be able to choose a quality alternative, the use of which will give a positive result for the patient’s health.