Cefquinome

General

• Type: 4th generation Cephalosporin
• Status: **Veterinary Use Only** (Not approved for human use)
• Dosage Forms: Suspension for injection
• Dosage Strengths: 2.5% (25mg/mL)
• Routes of Administration: IM, IV (varies by animal species)
• Common Trade Names: Cobactan, Cefq

Adult Dosing

Human Use

• Not indicated for human use.
• There are no established dosing guidelines for humans.

Veterinary Use (Cattle)

• Respiratory disease/Mastitis: 1mg/kg IM q24h
• Max: 5 days

Veterinary Use (Swine)

• Respiratory disease/MMA Syndrome: 2mg/kg IM q24h
• Max: 5 days

Veterinary Use (Horses)

• 1mg/kg IV/IM q24h

Pediatric Dosing

General

• Not indicated for human use.

Special Populations

• Pregnancy: Studies in laboratory animals have not produced evidence of teratogenic effects, but human safety is not established.
• Lactation: Excreted in milk (withdrawal periods apply for food consumption animals).
• Renal
  • Excreted largely unchanged via kidneys. Dosage adjustment would theoretically be required in renal failure, but guidelines exist primarily for livestock.
• Hepatic
  • No extensive metabolism.

Contraindications

• Allergy to class/drug (Cephalosporins or Beta-lactams)

Adverse Reactions

Serious

• Anaphylaxis (Hypersensitivity reactions)
• Superinfection
• Coagulopathy (Theoretical risk based on class)

Common

• Injection site swelling/reaction
• Diarrhea (in animals)
• Gastrointestinal disturbance

Pharmacology

• Half-life: 2-3h (varies by species)
• Metabolism: Minimally metabolized (<5%)
• Excretion: Urine (largely unchanged)
• Mechanism of Action: Bactericidal; inhibits cell wall mucopeptide synthesis.
• Spectrum Note: As a 4th generation cephalosporin, it possesses a zwitterionic nature facilitating rapid penetration across the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and high stability against AmpC beta-lactamases.

Antibiotic Sensitivities

Group	Organism	Sensitivity
Gram Positive	Strep. Group A, B, C, G	S
	Strep. Pneumoniae	S
	Viridans strep	S
	Strep. anginosus gp	X1
	Enterococcus faecalis	R
	Enterococcus faecium	R
	MSSA	S
	MRSA	R
	CA-MRSA	R
	Staph. Epidermidis	I
	C. jeikeium	R
	L. monocytogenes	R
Gram Negatives	N. gonorrhoeae	S
	N. meningitidis	S
	Moraxella catarrhalis	S
	H. influenzae	S
	E. coli	S
	Klebsiella sp	S
	E. coli/Klebsiella ESBL+	I
	E coli/Klebsiella KPC+	R
	Enterobacter sp, AmpC neg	S
	Enterobacter sp, AmpC pos	S
	Serratia sp	S
	Serratia marcescens	S
	Salmonella sp	S
	Shigella sp	S
	Proteus mirabilis	S
	Proteus vulgaris	S
	Providencia sp.	S
	Morganella sp.	S
	Citrobacter freundii	S
	Citrobacter diversus	S
	Citrobacter sp.	S
	Aeromonas sp	S
	Acinetobacter sp.	I
	Pseudomonas aeruginosa	S
	Burkholderia cepacia	R
	Stenotrophomonas maltophilia	R
	Yersinia enterocolitica	S
	Francisella tularensis	X1
	Brucella sp.	X1
	Legionella sp.	R
	Pasteurella multocida	S
	Haemophilus ducreyi	X1
	Vibrio vulnificus	X1
Misc	Chlamydophila sp	R
	Mycoplasm pneumoniae	R
	Rickettsia sp	R
	Mycobacterium avium	R
Anaerobes	Actinomyces	X1
	Bacteroides fragilis	R
	Prevotella melaninogenica	I
	Clostridium difficile	X1
	Clostridium (not difficile)	I
	Fusobacterium necrophorum	S
	Peptostreptococcus sp.	S

Key

• S susceptible/sensitive (usually)
• I intermediate (variably susceptible/resistant)
• R resistant (or not effective clinically)
• S+ synergistic with cell wall antibiotics
• U sensitive for UTI only (non systemic infection)
• X1 no data
• X2 active in vitro, but not used clinically
• X3 active in vitro, but not clinically effective for Group A strep pharyngitis or infections due to E. faecalis
• X4 active in vitro, but not clinically effective for strep pneumonia

See Also

• Antibiotics (Main)