cephalosporins

(noun)

The cephalosporins are a class of β-lactam antibiotics originally derived from the fungus Acremonium, which was previously known as "Cephalosporium".

Related Terms

Examples of cephalosporins in the following topics:

  • Beta-Lactam Antibiotics: Penicillins and Cephalosporins

    • The β-lactam ring is part of the core structure of several antibiotic families, the principal ones being the penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, and monobactams, which are, therefore, also called β-lactam antibiotics.
    • The cephalosporins (sg.
    • Cephalosporins are indicated for the prophylaxis and treatment of infections caused by bacteria susceptible to this particular form of antibiotic.
    • First-generation cephalosporins are active predominantly against Gram-positive bacteria, and successive generations have increased activity against Gram-negative bacteria (albeit often with reduced activity against Gram-positive organisms).

  • Antibiotic Classifications

    • Examples include the Beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillin derivatives (penams) ), cephalosporins (cephems), monobactams, and carbapenems) and vancomycin.

  • Microorganisms in the Hospital

    • MRSA is any strain of Staphylococcus aureus that has developed resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, which include the penicillins (methicillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin, oxacillin, etc.) and the cephalosporins.

  • Inhibiting Cell Wall Synthesis

    • This includes penicillin derivatives (penams), cephalosporins (cephems), monobactams, and carbapenems. β-Lactam antibiotics are bacteriocidal and act by inhibiting the synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer of bacterial cell walls .

  • Pathogenic Escherichia coli

    • Antibiotics which may be used to treat E. coli infection include amoxicillin, as well as other semisynthetic penicillins, many cephalosporins, carbapenems, aztreonam, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin, and the aminoglycosides.

  • Naturally Occurring Antimicrobial Drugs: Antibiotics

    • There are mainly two classes of antimicrobial drugs: those obtained from natural sources (i.e. beta-lactam) antibiotic (such as penicillins, cephalosporins) or protein synthesis inhibitors (such as aminoglycosides, macrolides, tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, polypeptides); and synthetic agents.

  • Typhoid Fever

    • Where resistance is uncommon, the treatment of choice is a fluoroquinolone such as ciprofloxacin otherwise, a third-generation cephalosporin such as ceftriaxone or cefotaxime.