Cefoxitin therapy for surgical patients.

Cefoxitin was administered to 25 patients on a general surgical service. In 16 of these patients, a bacteriologic diagnosis was made: four patients had peritonitis, one had ascending cholangitis, seven had cellulitis, and four had abscess. The dosage of cefoxitin varied from 4 to 8 g per day and was generally well tolerated, although there were three cases of phlebitis and one superinfection. There was no evidence of renal, liver, or bone marrow toxicity. All isolates of Bacteroides (eight), Escherichia coli (six), and Staphylococcus aureus (five) were sensitive to cefoxitin. Two of three strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant. All patients recovered with cefoxitin and corrective surgery. The results indicate that cefoxitin has the potential of replacing combination therapy in some surgical patients.