Known brand names include No current brand name; marketed as generic ceftriaxone for injection.
A third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic given IV or IM, usually once a day. It treats serious infections of the lungs, ears, skin, urinary tract, bones and joints, abdomen, blood, and brain lining, as well as gonorrhea, and is given before some surgeries to prevent infection.
Ceftriaxone kills bacteria by stopping them from building their cell walls. It holds up against some of the enzymes, called beta-lactamases, that bacteria use to destroy antibiotics like it. Bacteria can still resist it by using those enzymes, by changing the proteins it targets, or by letting less of it inside.
It reaches the lining of the brain when that lining is inflamed, which is why it can treat meningitis. It stays in the body long enough to be given once or twice a day, and people should start to feel better within the first few days. It leaves the body through both the urine and the bile, so people with kidney failure usually do not need a smaller amount. It can bind with calcium to form solid particles, which explains the gallbladder sludge, kidney stones, and deadly deposits in newborns given calcium fluids.
Ceftriaxone is an antibiotic, given by IV or as a shot in a muscle, that kills the bacteria causing an infection. It treats serious infections of the lungs, ears, skin, urinary tract, bones and joints, belly, and blood, and meningitis, an infection of the lining around the brain. It also treats gonorrhea, and pelvic inflammatory disease when gonorrhea causes it. It is also given before some surgeries to lower the chance of infection afterward.
Adults and children, including newborns, can receive it in a hospital or doctor's office, and some people are taught to give it at home. It is not given to premature newborns, to newborns with high bilirubin (jaundice), or to newborns who need IV fluids that contain calcium. It does not cover chlamydia, so another drug is added for pelvic infections when chlamydia may be involved. It does not work against colds or other viral infections.
Changes in blood counts and liver tests, diarrhea, nausea, rash, itching, fever, and pain or firmness where it is injected are the common effects. The label treats serious allergic and skin reactions as dangerous. It also warns about deadly calcium deposits in the lungs and kidneys of newborns, brain effects in people with severe kidney disease, a breakdown of red blood cells, gallbladder sludge, kidney stones, pancreatitis, C. difficile diarrhea, and bleeding problems.