# Ceftazidime in Nigeria

Ceftazidime has 5 active NAFDAC registrations in our October 2026 copy of the register, from 5 registration holders; 4 further listings have lapsed.

- Source: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/ceftazidime/
- Drug class: Third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic (anti-pseudomonal) (Antibiotics)
- Also known as: Fortum, Fortcef, Tazicef, Anti-pseudomonal cephalosporin, Ceftazidime 1 g injection
- Prescription required: yes
- On the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines
- Last updated: October 2026

## Price in Nigeria

Our sampled online pharmacies held no ceftazidime listing this cycle, so we quote no price. It is a hospital injection rather than a shelf medicine: a 1 g vial of an Indian or Chinese generic is bought by wards, private hospitals and a few pharmacies near them, usually by the vial or the box of ten, and the price moves with the naira because every registered product is imported. Ask a licensed pharmacy or hospital pharmacy for the price per vial and check the NAFDAC number on the carton.

## What is Ceftazidime?

Ceftazidime is a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic given by injection, and the one in its class that reliably kills Pseudomonas aeruginosa — the hard, water-loving bacterium behind so many infections picked up on wards, in burns units and around catheters and ventilators. Where ceftriaxone is the everyday injectable cephalosporin of Nigerian hospitals, ceftazidime is the one reached for when the infection is hospital-acquired, when a culture grows Pseudomonas, or when a patient with no immune defences develops a fever. It is weaker than ceftriaxone against the pneumococcus and staphylococci, so it is not a general-purpose replacement.

It comes as a powder in a vial, 1 g in every product registered in Nigeria, dissolved in water for injection and given into a vein or a large muscle every eight hours. Nothing is made locally: in our October 2026 copy of the NAFDAC register ceftazidime has five active registrations, one of them the ceftazidime-avibactam combination Zavicefta, and the plain 1 g vials come from India, Malaysia and China under names like Prexidime, Vaxcel, Pretaxime and Tadizime. Fortcef, the name buyers still ask for, is recorded Expired since December 2024; Bioszime and Taxiject flipped to Inactive in August 2026, and the two current registrations held by Precious Trust and Dortemag fall due in the last quarter of 2026. A ward that depends on one brand should watch this list.

Like every broad-spectrum antibiotic it is a medicine to use with care: three to seven days of ceftazidime select for resistant gut bacteria and Clostridioides difficile, and the WHO places it in the Watch group of its AWaRe classification — for specific indications, not for 'covering' a fever in an outpatient. It is dosed by kidney function, and the commonest serious harm in Nigerian practice is confusion or seizures in an older patient with poor kidneys who was given the full adult dose.

## What is Ceftazidime used for?

- Infections caused by, or likely to involve, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonia
- Febrile neutropenia (empirical, usually with an aminoglycoside)
- Complicated urinary tract infections and pyelonephritis resistant to first-line drugs
- Infected burns, deep diabetic foot infections and osteomyelitis from gram-negative organisms
- Bacterial meningitis and septicaemia from gram-negative bacilli, including in neonates
- Intra-abdominal infections, in combination with metronidazole
- Lung infections in cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis

## Dosage

Always follow a doctor's or pharmacist's instructions; this is general reference information.

- Adults: 1 g every eight hours intravenously or by deep intramuscular injection for most infections; 2 g every eight hours (up to 6 g a day) for severe infections, Pseudomonas pneumonia, meningitis and febrile neutropenia. Urinary tract infections may be treated with 500 mg to 1 g every twelve hours. Reconstitute the 1 g vial with the diluent on the leaflet — about 3 mL of water for injection for intramuscular use, 10 mL for a slow intravenous push over three to five minutes, or dilute further into 50 to 100 mL of saline or dextrose for a 15 to 30 minute infusion. Reduce the dose and lengthen the interval when kidney function is reduced: roughly 1 g every twelve hours at a creatinine clearance of 31 to 50 mL/min, 1 g every 24 hours at 16 to 30, 500 mg every 24 hours at 6 to 15, and 500 mg every 48 hours on dialysis, given after the session.
- Children: Infants over two months and children: 25 to 50 mg per kg every eight hours (up to 150 mg/kg a day, maximum 6 g a day), the higher dose for Pseudomonas, meningitis and immunocompromised children. Neonates: 25 to 60 mg per kg a day in two divided doses, because the newborn kidney clears it slowly. Weigh the child; do not estimate.
- Elderly: Older adults often have less kidney function than their creatinine suggests. Calculate clearance and adjust the dose; the usual ceiling is 3 g a day over 80 years. Neurological side effects — confusion, twitching, seizures — are the sign of a dose too high for the kidneys.

Store unopened vials below 25 °C and away from light; in a hot store the powder darkens, which is a reason to refuse it. Reconstituted solution is pale yellow to amber, releases carbon dioxide (vent the vial), and should be used at once or within 24 hours in a refrigerator. Do not mix it in the same syringe or line as an aminoglycoside (gentamicin, amikacin), sodium bicarbonate or vancomycin. Review every course at 48 to 72 hours against the culture result and stop or narrow when you can.

## Side effects

Common: Diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal discomfort; Pain, redness or phlebitis at the injection or infusion site; Rash, itching, drug fever; Raised liver enzymes and eosinophils on blood tests, usually without symptoms; A positive Coombs test without anaemia; Oral or vaginal thrush after a course.

Serious (seek medical help immediately): Clostridioides difficile colitis: watery or bloody diarrhoea with cramps and fever during or weeks after treatment; Anaphylaxis and severe skin reactions (Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis) — rare, more likely with a history of immediate penicillin allergy; Encephalopathy, myoclonus and seizures, almost always when the dose was not reduced for kidney failure; Haemolytic anaemia, low platelets or low white cells on long courses; Kidney injury when combined with aminoglycosides or loop diuretics in a dehydrated patient.

When to see a doctor: Report at once any rash with blistering or mouth sores, wheeze or swelling of the face during an infusion, new confusion or jerking movements, or diarrhoea with blood or more than four loose stools a day. A fever that persists after 72 hours of ceftazidime means the organism is not covered or there is an undrained collection — the answer is a culture and a review, not a longer course.

## Warnings

Do not take if: Known allergy to ceftazidime or any cephalosporin; A history of anaphylaxis or other immediate severe reaction to a penicillin or carbapenem — use only if no alternative and under supervision; Neonates under seven days with jaundice are usually treated with other agents; follow neonatal unit protocol.

Interactions: Aminoglycosides (gentamicin, amikacin) — often combined deliberately for Pseudomonas, but the pair adds kidney risk; monitor creatinine and never mix them in one line; Loop diuretics (furosemide) in high doses — added kidney toxicity; Chloramphenicol — antagonism in the laboratory; avoid the combination; Probenecid — raises and prolongs ceftazidime levels; Warfarin and other coumarin anticoagulants — the INR can rise; check it during the course; Oral typhoid vaccine — inactivated by antibiotics; separate by at least three days; Laboratory: can give a false positive urine glucose on copper-reduction tests and a positive direct Coombs test.

Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Ceftazidime crosses the placenta but has not been linked to birth defects and is used in pregnancy when a serious gram-negative infection calls for it; it is among the safer injectable antibiotics for a pregnant woman with pyelonephritis or sepsis. Small amounts reach breast milk and the infant may develop loose stools or thrush, but breastfeeding may continue.

## Brands in Nigeria

Well-known NAFDAC-registered brands: Prexidime Injection (Precious Trust Limited, made in India); Vaxcel Ceftazidime 1 g Injection (Dortemag Ventures Limited, made in Malaysia); Pretaxime Injection (Chinare Ani Pharmaceuticals Ltd, made in India); Tadizime Injection (Solution Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Limited, made in China); Fortcef 1 g Injection (Embassy Pharmaceutical and Chemicals Limited, made in India); Taxiject Injection (Manfes Pharmaceutical Company Limited, made in China); Bioszime Injection (Chez Resources Pharmaceutical Limited, made in India); Pitum Injection 1000 mg (Pinnacle Health Pharmaceutical & Stores Ltd, made in India).
Full searchable brand list: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/ceftazidime/brands/

## How to verify it is genuine

1. Every vial and its carton should carry a NAFDAC registration number. In our October 2026 copy of the register the current 1 g products are Prexidime (B4-4814, Precious Trust, to October 2026), Vaxcel Ceftazidime (A4-3169, Dortemag, to December 2026), Pretaxime (A4-3808, Chinare Ani, to 2030) and Tadizime (A4-0748, Solution Pharmaceuticals, to 2030)
2. Fortcef 1 g (C4-0247, Embassy Pharmaceutical) is recorded Expired since December 2024 and Pitum (B4-8939) since July 2025; Bioszime (B4-1336) and Taxiject (A4-4241) are recorded Inactive from August 2026. A vial under any of these names should be checked by its printed number, batch and expiry, and the renewal confirmed on the official Greenbook before a ward relies on it
3. Zavicefta (A4-100347, Pfizer) is ceftazidime with avibactam, a different medicine for resistant organisms under specialist direction — it is not a substitute for a 1 g ceftazidime vial
4. Enter the number in our free NAFDAC checker and confirm the product name, strength and holder match the carton. Refuse a vial whose powder has turned dark or caked: ceftazidime spoils in heat and the colour tells you

Verify any NAFDAC number free (no login): https://ogbogwu.com/nafdac-checker/

## FAQs

### Is Fortcef still registered in Nigeria?

Not in our October 2026 copy of the NAFDAC register: Fortcef 1 g Injection (C4-0247, Embassy Pharmaceutical and Chemicals, made in India by Laborate) is recorded Expired since 19 December 2024. Ceftazidime itself is still available under current registrations — Prexidime, Vaxcel Ceftazidime, Pretaxime and Tadizime are Active in our copy. Register listings can lag a renewal, so if you hold a recent Fortcef carton, confirm its status on the official Greenbook rather than assume either way.

### What is the difference between ceftazidime and ceftriaxone?

Both are third-generation cephalosporins given by injection, but they lean different ways. Ceftriaxone is stronger against the pneumococcus, meningococcus, gonococcus and most community infections, and needs only one dose a day. Ceftazidime is the one that kills Pseudomonas, which ceftriaxone does not, at the cost of weaker gram-positive cover and three doses a day. For a chest infection or typhoid from the community, ceftriaxone; for an infected burn, a ventilator pneumonia or a culture growing Pseudomonas, ceftazidime.

### How is a 1 g ceftazidime vial reconstituted?

For an intramuscular dose, add about 3 mL of water for injection (or 1% lidocaine if the leaflet allows) and inject deep into a large muscle. For a slow intravenous injection, add 10 mL of water for injection and give over three to five minutes. For an infusion, dissolve as for the intravenous dose and dilute into 50 to 100 mL of 0.9% saline or 5% dextrose over 15 to 30 minutes. The solution fizzes — carbon dioxide is released, so vent the vial — and turns pale yellow to amber, which is normal. Use within 24 hours if refrigerated, sooner on the ward.

### Can ceftazidime be given to someone allergic to penicillin?

Usually, if the penicillin reaction was a mild rash: cross-reaction between penicillins and third-generation cephalosporins is uncommon, around one to two in a hundred. If the penicillin reaction was anaphylaxis, severe swelling, or a blistering skin reaction, ceftazidime should be avoided unless there is no alternative and the first dose is given where a reaction can be treated. Tell the prescriber exactly what happened last time.

### Why does the dose have to be reduced in kidney disease?

Ceftazidime leaves the body almost entirely through the kidneys, so when they slow down the drug builds up, and high levels irritate the brain: confusion, twitching, then seizures, which have been fatal when missed in elderly patients given the standard 1 g every eight hours. The fix is simple and written on every leaflet — the same dose less often, or a smaller dose, according to the creatinine clearance — and on dialysis a dose after each session.

### How much does ceftazidime cost in Nigeria?

We hold no sampled price for ceftazidime this cycle, so we do not quote one. Every registered product is imported, mostly 1 g vials from India and China, so the price tracks the exchange rate and differs between hospital pharmacies and retail. Ask for the price per vial and per box of ten, and check that the NAFDAC number on the carton is current before you compare.

## Sources

- NAFDAC Greenbook (official register of approved products in Nigeria)
- WHO Model List of Essential Medicines
- British National Formulary (BNF)
- Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health)