Combination antibiotic
A combination antibiotic is one in which two ingredients are added together for additional therapeutic effect.[1] One or both ingredients may be antibiotics.[1]
Antibiotic combinations are increasingly important because of antimicrobial resistance.[2] This means that individual antibiotics that used to be effective are no longer effective,[1] and because of the absence of new classes of antibiotic, they allow old antibiotics to be continue to be used.[2] In particular, they may be required to treat multiresistant organisms,[1][2] such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.[3] Some combinations are more likely to result in successful treatment of an infection.[1]
Uses
[edit | edit source]Antibiotics are used in combination for a number of reasons:
- to treat multiresistant organisms,[1][2] such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.[3]
- because a person may be infected with more than one microbe simultaneously,[3] for example infections of the abdominal cavity after bowel perforation.
- because antibiotics used together may act synergistically to increase the efficacy of both,[3]
- because antibiotics used together may have a broader spectrum than each antibiotic used individually.[3]
Examples
[edit | edit source]Examples of combinations include:[citation needed]
- Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, which includes the beta lactam amoxicillin with the suicide inhibitor clavulanic acid, which helps the amoxicillin overcome the action of beta lactamase
- Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole
- Piperacillin/Tazobactam
Research
[edit | edit source]Research into combination antibiotics is ongoing.[1]
References
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