Introduction:
Ceftriaxone has been recommended as a first-line treatment for various
infections; however, the doses for
pneumonia have not been a consensus in randomized clinical trials. To compare
ceftriaxone 1 g daily efficacy to other
ceftriaxone dosing regimens in community-acquired
pneumonia. Area covered: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and LILACS. Randomized controlled trials of
ceftriaxone in community-acquired
pneumonia were included. Outcomes included clinical cure in modified intention-to-treatment, clinically and microbiologically evaluable patients. Expert opinion:
Ceftriaxone dosages of 1 g daily are as safe and effective as other
antibiotic regimens for community-acquired
pneumonia. Twenty-four articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Twelve studies evaluated
ceftriaxone regimens at a dosage of 2 g daily and 12 studies evaluated
ceftriaxone at a dosage of 1 g daily. The odds-ratio of clinical cure in the modified intention-to-treatment patients administered either
ceftriaxone (4666 patients) or a comparator (4411 patients) was 0.98 (95% CI [0.82-1.17]). Comparator regimens showed similar efficacy to
ceftriaxone regimens of 1 g daily, with an odds ratio of 1.03 (95% CI [0.88-1.20]). Dosages higher than
ceftriaxone 1 g daily did not result in improved clinical outcomes for community-acquired
pneumonia patients (OR 1.02, 95% CI [0.91-1.14]).