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Major study links cefepime to higher mortality risk across 110 clinical trials

9/16/2026

Beta-lactam antibiotics anchor the frontline treatment of serious bacterial infections in hospitals worldwide.

A study published in JAMA Network Open found that cefepime, one of the most widely used drugs in that class, carried a higher rate of all-cause mortality than other beta-lactam comparators across 110 randomized clinical trials and more than 22,000 patients.

The mortality gap was narrow but consistent. Among 11,726 patients given cefepime, 778 deaths occurred within approximately 30 days of treatment, a rate of 6.6%.

Patients given other beta-lactam antibiotics died at a rate of 6.2%.