Thanks to work by Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), Howard Florey (
1898-1968) and Ernst Chain (1906-1979), penicillin was first
produced on a large scale for human use in 1943. At this time,
the development of a pill that could reliably kill bacteria was
a remarkable development and many lives were saved during World
War II because this medication was available.
But quickly, it became obvious that this new "wonder drug" could
bear improvement. For example:
Penicillin is not well absorbed from the intestinal tract meaning
that at least 70% of an oral dose is wasted.
Penicillin is also a short-acting medication, with half of the
amount circulating being removed from the body every half hour.
Not all bacteria have the type of cell wall which is susceptible
to destruction by Penicillin. (Bacteria are classified as Gram
negative or Gram positive, depending on the cell wall characteristics.
Penicillin is able to punch holes through the Gram positive cell
wall but is not very effective against the Gram negative cell wall.)
Staphylococci (an important group of bacteria) have developed an
enzyme to break the Penicillin molecule apart and are thus rarely
susceptible to Penicillin.
Amoxicillin represents a synthetic improvement upon the original
Penicillin molecule. Amoxicillin is better able to resist damage
from stomach acid so less of an oral dose is wasted. While it is
still susceptible to destruction by Staphylococcal enzymes, it
does have a much broader spectrum against the Gram negative cell
wall and is able to last a bit longer.
USES OF THIS MEDICATION
Amoxicillin is regarded as having a fairly broad spectrum against
many bacteria thus it is used both on organisms known to be sensitive
to it plus it is a good selection when the sensitivity of bacteria
is unknown. It is especially helpful in anaerobic infections (those
which grow without the benefit of oxygen). Typical uses might include:
Infected bite wounds
Upper respiratory infections
Infected teeth
Bladder infections
It should be noted that Staphylococcal infections are NOT sensitive
to this medication with two exceptions: Staph infections in the bladder
are sensitive to Amoxicillin simply because the kidney concentrates
such a large amount of Amoxicillin in the bladder. Also Staph infections
are sensitive to Amoxicillin if Clavulanic acid is given to protect
Amoxicillin from the Staph enzymes. Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid combinations
are marketed under the names Clavamox and Augmentin.
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER DRUGS
When the organism in a serious infection cannot be isolated, a common
strategy is to attempt to "cover" for all possible bacteria.
Amoxicillin is frequently used in combination with other antibiotics
for this purpose.
Clavulanic acid may be added to Amoxicillin to increase Amoxicillin's
spectrum against Staphylococcal bacteria.
SIDE EFFECTS
Some individuals experience nausea with this medication. Giving
the medication with food seems to reduce this effect.
SPECIAL CAUTIONS
The oral suspension should be refrigerated, though if it is mistakenly
left out of the refrigerator, this is not a problem. The oral suspension
should be discarded after 2 weeks.
Amoxicillin may be given with or without food.
Amoxicillin will cross the placenta in a pregnant patient but is
felt to be safe for use during pregnancy.
Amoxicillin Medical Center Amoxicillin
|
bravenet.com
