Effect of ceftizoxime, a new cephalosporin antibiotic, on binding of bilirubin to human serum albumin.

An investigation and comparison of the competitive effect of ceftizoxime, a new cephalosporin, and other beta-lactam antibiotics on in vitro binding of bilirubin to human serum albumin showed that at a normal range of serum albumin (3.48 g/dl) and bilirubin (0.94 mg/dl) in healthy infants, free bilirubin did not increase in the presence of any of the test antibiotics at concentrations up to 640 micrograms/ml. When the albumin concentration was decreased to one-fifth of the normal human range, only ceftizoxime caused no bilirubin displacement.