Cefuroxime axetil is a precursor of cefuroxime, which belongs to the second generation of cephalosporin antibiotics.
Cefuroxime is active against a wide range of pathogens, including strains producing β-lactamases. The bactericidal effect of cefuroxime is associated with the suppression of bacterial cell synthesis by binding to the main target proteins.
Cefuroxime is usually active in vitro against the following microorganisms:
Gram-negative aerobics:
Haemophilus influenzae (including ampicillin-resistant strains); Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis, Esherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Proteus mirabilis, Providencia spp, Proteus rettgeri and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (including penicillinase-producing and non-penicillinase-producing strains).
Gram-positive aerobes (except strains resistant to methicillin): Staphylococcus aureus; Streptococcus pneumoniae; Streptococcus pyogenes (and other β-hemolytic streptococci); Streptococcus group B (Streptococcus agalactiac).
Anaerobes:
Peptococcus spp., Peptostreptococcus spp., Clostridium spp., Bacteroides spp., Fusobacterium spp., Propionibacterium spp.
Other microorganisms:
Borrelia burgdorferi
The following microorganisms are insensitive or insensitive to cefuroxime:
Clostridium difficile, Pseudomonas spp., Campylobacter spp., Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Listeria monocytogenes, methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epiderniidis, Enterococcus (Streptococcus) faecalis, Morganella morganii, Proteus vulgaris, Entcrobacter spp., Serratia spp., Bacteroides fragilis.