Formulary
Cefoxitin: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Cephalosporins are antibacterials that attach to penicillin binding proteins to interrupt cell wall biosynthesis, leading to bacterial cell lysis and death.
MedNext Academy | 3 min read
Cefoxitin: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Cephalosporins are antibacterials that attach to penicillin binding proteins to interrupt cell wall biosynthesis, leading to bacterial cell lysis and death.
Drug action
Cephalosporins are antibacterials that attach to penicillin binding proteins to interrupt cell wall biosynthesis, leading to bacterial cell lysis and death.
Indications and dose
**Complicated urinary tract infection,Pyelonephritis**
- **Adult** (By Slow Intravenous Injection): 2 g every 4-6 hours; maximum 12 g per day.
**Complicated urinary tract infection, Pyelonephritis for cefoxitin**
- **Child 12-17 years** (By slow intravenous injection): 2 g every 4-6 hours; maximum 12 g per day.
Side effects
Common or very common Abdominal pain; diarrhoea; dizziness; eosinophilia; headache; leucopenia; nausea; neutropenia; pseudomembranous enterocolitis; skin reactions; thrombocytopenia; vomiting Uncommon Anaphylactic reaction; angioedema Rare or very rare Agranulocytosis; haemolytic anaemia; nephritis tubulointerstitial (reversible); severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) Side-effects For cefoxitin Frequency not known Anaemia; bone marrow failure; encephalopathy; fever; hypersensitivity; local reaction; myasthenia gravis aggravated; overgrowth of nonsusceptible organisms; renal impairment; thrombophlebitis
Interactions
**Other interactions (1):**
- Due to the induction of beta-lactamases, certain antibiotics (eg, cefoxitin, imipenem) have been found to cause antagonism with many beta-lactams, including aztreonam, for certain gram-negative...
Pregnancy
Manufacturer advises not known to be harmful.
Breast feeding
Specialist sources indicate present in milk in low concentrations, but appropriate to use. D
Renal impairment
Dose adjustments Manufacturer advises increase dosing interval to every 8-12 hours if creatinine clearance 30-50 mL/minute, or every 12-24 hours if creatinine clearance 10-29 mL/minute. Consult product literature if creatinine clearance less than 10 mL/minute. See Prescribing in renal impairment .
Medicinal forms
Solution
Clinical governance
**Author:** MedNext Clinical Team. **Clinical reviewer:** Dr Shameer Deen, MBBS, MS, MRCS. **Sources:** BNF, Indian Pharmacopoeia, CIMS India. **Correction:** Report errors at support@mednext.academy.
Inside MedNext for this topic
- 411 MedNext-authored chapters
- 80,000+ MCQ bank
- 15 study modes
- Growing visual cheat sheets
Study modes
- Notes
- MCQ
- Audio
- Video
- Visual
- 3D Anatomy
- Trace
- Flashcards
- Mnemonics
- Image Bank
- Clinical
- Microscopy
- Audio QBank
- Cadaver
- Book Match
Continue reading
Subject HubPharmacology Hub
All pharmacology resources in one place.
Drug SchedulesIndian Drug Schedules
Schedule H, H1, X and G classifications.
FormularyBrowse all drugs
Search 1,850+ drug profiles.
Study Cefoxitin in the MedNext app
Challenge yourself with targeted pharmacology MCQs on this drug class. Every explanation links back to the chapter that teaches the concept.
Start drug challengeExplore the full formulary

