PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
ED  - ,
TI  - Cephalosporins - now and tomorrow
AID  - 10.1136/dtb.20.22.85
DP  - 1982 Oct 29
TA  - Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin
PG  - 85--88
VI  - 20
IP  - 22
4099  - http://dtb.bmj.com/content/20/22/85.short
4100  - http://dtb.bmj.com/content/20/22/85.full
SO  - Drug Ther Bull1982 Oct 29; 20
AB  - The pharmaceutical industry has striven for a long time to improve the cephalosporin antibiotics. Improvements have included increased potency, greater stability to bacterial β-lactamases, a broader spectrum against Gram-negative bacilli, reduced toxicity and improved pharmacokinetic properties. The injectable derivatives (with confusingly similar names) have been grouped into so-called ‘generations’. This review, prompted by the marketing of the ‘third generation’, attempts to define the roles of the cephalosporins (and the closely related cephamycins) already available or under trial.