Cephapirin Dosage

Usual Adult Dose for Skin or Soft Tissue Infection

500 mg to 1 g IV or IM every 4 to 6 hours
Serious life-threatening infections: Up to 12 g/day IV

Usual Adult Dose for Surgical Prophylaxis

Preoperative: 1 to 2 g IV or IM 30 to 60 minutes prior to the start of surgery
Intraoperative: 1 to 2 g IV or IM during surgery
Postoperative: 1 to 2 g IV or IM every 6 hours for 24 hours (3 to 5 days in high risk patients)

Renal Dose Adjustments

CrCl 10 to 50 mL: Usual dose given every 6 to 8 hours
CrCl 9 mL/min or less: Usual dose given every 12 hours

Liver Dose Adjustments

Data not available

Precautions

Discontinue if seizures or hypersensitivity reactions occur.

Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) has been reported with almost all antibiotics and may potentially be life-threatening. Therefore, it is important to consider this diagnosis in patients who present with diarrhea following cephalosporin therapy. Mild cases generally improve with discontinuation of the drug, while severe cases may require supportive therapy and treatment with an antimicrobial agent effective against C difficile. Hypertoxin producing strains of C difficile cause increased morbidity and mortality; these infections can be resistant to antimicrobial treatment and may necessitate colectomy.

Dialysis

Patients who are to be dialyzed should receive the same dose just prior to dialysis and every 12 hours thereafter.

Other Comments

The lower dose is adequate for certain infections, such as skin and skin structure and most urinary tract infections. The higher dose is recommended for more serious infections.

See also:

Further information

Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

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