Cefotaxime is a member of the cephalosporin antibiotic class of drugs that has a rather wide spectrum of activity and is useful as a pre-surgery antibiotic. It is also useful for serious infections caused by susceptible strains of microorganisms in lower respiratory infections, genitourinary infections, gynecologic infections, skin infections, and central nervous system infections. These antibiotics work by inhibiting bacterial cell wall biosynthesis and are active against a wide range of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A positive feature of these drugs is that they display a resistance to penicillinases and are useful to treat infections that are resistant to penicillin derivatives. Side effects include diarrhea and when mixed with alcohol, cefotaxime can cause stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, fainting, and difficulty breathing.