The Georgia Department of Public Health issued the following health in February of 2025. Click here to download the alert as a PDF.
Health Alert: Ceftriaxone Adverse Events
Georgia Department of Public Health Requests Reports of Severe Ceftriaxone Adverse Events
Local health departments: Please forward to hospitals in your jurisdiction.
Hospitals: Please distribute to infectious disease doctors, infection preventionists, emergency department physicians, intensive care physicians, clinical pharmacists.
Summary
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) has received several reports of serious adverse events after ceftriaxone infusions from Georgia hospitals and is working with other states and CDC to collect information and evaluate the reports. On February 7, CDC released a call for cases dating back to September 1, 2024.
A single product manufacturer or lot number has not been associated with these events, and there is no confirmed causal link to ceftriaxone. A public health investigation is underway to identify and characterize serious adverse events associated with ceftriaxone exposure.
DPH is collecting information on reports of serious adverse events following the administration of ceftriaxone to assist with the investigation. Reports of events meeting the below criteria will be shared in a de-identified manner with CDC to support the investigation.
Actions Requested of Healthcare Providers:
Please report adverse events that meet the following criteria, occurring after September 1, 2024:
- Occurred within 6 hours after receipt of injectable* ceftriaxone in a non-ICU setting, and
- Resulted in death or required cardiopulmonary resuscitation**, and
- Not attributed by the treating provider(s) to a cause other than ceftriaxone administration***
*including both intramuscular and intravenous routes of administration
**cardiopulmonary resuscitation defined as the use of chest compressions and mechanical ventilation or provision of rescue breaths to maintain circulatory flow and oxygenation during cardiac arrest
***such as known infection, other underlying medical condition, or exposure to a medication or medical product other than ceftriaxone
To report adverse events, call the DPH Acute Disease Epidemiology Section at 404-657-2588 during business hours Monday through Friday or 1-866-PUB-HLTH (1-866-782-4584) on evenings and weekends.
DPH will request a completed clinical data collection form and may also ask for medication vial details/photographs and/or leftover vials. DPH will report events meeting CDC’s criteria in a secure manner.
We encourage healthcare providers to report any serious adverse events that might be associated with a medical product to FDA’s MedWatch Program https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch-fda-safety-information-and-adverse-event-reporting-program and to the product manufacturer.
Georgia DPH Contact Information
Healthcare Associated Infections team
Phone: 404-657-2588
Email: hai@dph.ga.gov