Cefalexin
Overview
Cephalosporin
The cephalosporins are a class of β-lactam antibiotics originally derived from Acremonium, which was previously known as "Cephalosporium".Together with cephamycins they constitute a subgroup of β-lactam antibiotics called cephems.-Medical use:...
antibiotic
Antibiotic
An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...
introduced in 1967 by Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
. It is an orally administered agent with a similar antimicrobial spectrum to the intravenous agents cefalotin
Cefalotin
Cefalotin or cephalothin is a first-generation cephalosporin antibiotic. It was the first cephalosporin marketed and continues to be widely used. It is an intravenously administered agent with a similar antimicrobial spectrum to cefazolin and the oral agent cefalexin. Cefalotin sodium is...
and cefazolin
Cefazolin
Cefazolin , also known as cefazoline or cephazolin, is a first-generation cephalosporin antibiotic.The drug is usually administrated by either intramuscular injection or intravenous infusion .-Indications:Cefazolin is mainly used to treat bacterial infections of the skin...
. It was first marketed as Keflex (Lilly), and now is also sold under several other trade names.
As of 2008, cefalexin was the most popular cephalosporin antibiotic in the United States, with more than 25 million prescriptions of its generic versions alone, for US$255 million in sales (though less popular than two other antibiotics, amoxicillin
Amoxicillin
Amoxicillin , formerly amoxycillin , and abbreviated amox, is a moderate-spectrum, bacteriolytic, β-lactam antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections caused by susceptible microorganisms. It is usually the drug of choice within the class because it is better absorbed, following oral...
and azithromycin
Azithromycin
Azithromycin is an azalide, a subclass of macrolide antibiotics. Azithromycin is one of the world's best-selling antibiotics...
, each with 50 million prescriptions per year).
Cefalexin is used to treat a number of infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
s including: otitis media
Otitis media
Otitis media is inflammation of the middle ear, or a middle ear infection.It occurs in the area between the tympanic membrane and the inner ear, including a duct known as the eustachian tube. It is one of the two categories of ear inflammation that can underlie what is commonly called an earache,...
, streptococcal pharyngitis, bone and joint infections, pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, cellulitis
Cellulitis
Cellulitis is a diffuse inflammation of connective tissue with severe inflammation of dermal and subcutaneous layers of the skin. Cellulitis can be caused by normal skin flora or by exogenous bacteria, and often occurs where the skin has previously been broken: cracks in the skin, cuts, blisters,...
, and urinary tract infection
Urinary tract infection
A urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. Symptoms include frequent feeling and/or need to urinate, pain during urination, and cloudy urine. The main causal agent is Escherichia coli...
s.
