In a protective efficacy study, rabbits weighing between 2.0 to 2.5 kg, challenged intravenously with a penicillinase-producing strain of S. aureus (strain 630), showed that the median effective dose of cefuroxime is 3 mg/kg^[2].

Cefuroxime is particularly effective against S. aureus with an MIC of 0.25 μg/ml, and displays a range of MIC values against various bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus methicillin-susceptible at 0.25 μg/ml, methicillin-resistant S. aureus at 5.9 μg/ml, Streptococcus pyogenes, S. pneumoniae, and S. viridans all at 0.125 μg/ml, S. faecalis at >125.0 μg/ml, and Clostridium spp at 1.2 μg/ml^[1].

The bactericidal action of cefuroxime ranges from 10-100 μg/ml over 2-6 hours. Although its effect is slower against S. aureus strains, it still manages to eliminate over 99% of the initial bacterial inoculum within 6 hours. For Gram-negative organisms, the bactericidal action is faster, typically killing over 99% of large bacterial populations within 2 hours, and this includes β-lactamase-producing strains^[1].