Amoxicillin warnings and precautions

# Warnings and Precautions

## Warnings
SERIOUS AND OCCASIONALLY FATAL HYPERSENSITIVITY (ANAPHYLACTIC) REACTIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN PATIENTS ON PENICILLIN THERAPY. ALTHOUGH ANAPHYLAXIS IS MORE FREQUENT FOLLOWING PARENTERAL THERAPY, IT HAS OCCURRED IN PATIENTS ON ORAL PENICILLINS.  THESE REACTIONS ARE MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR IN INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF PENICILLIN HYPERSENSITIVITY AND/OR A HISTORY OF SENSITIVITY TO MULTIPLE ALLERGENS.  THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF PENICILLIN HYPERSENSITIVITY WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SEVERE REACTIONS WHEN TREATED WITH CEPHALOSPORINS.  BEFORE INITIATING THERAPY WITH AMOXICILLIN, CAREFUL INQUIRY SHOULD BE MADE CONCERNING PREVIOUS HYPERSENSITIVITY REACTIONS TO PENICILLINS, CEPHALOSPORINS, OR OTHER ALLERGENS.  IF AN ALLERGIC REACTION OCCURS, AMOXICILLIN SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED AND APPROPRIATE THERAPY INSTITUTED.  SERIOUS ANAPHYLACTIC REACTIONS REQUIRE IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY TREATMENT WITH EPINEPHRINE.  OXYGEN, INTRAVENOUS STEROIDS, AND AIRWAY MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING INTUBATION, SHOULD ALSO BE ADMINISTERED AS INDICATED.
Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) has been reported with use of nearly all antibacterial agents, including amoxicillin, and may range in severity from mild diarrhea to fatal colitis.  Treatment with antibacterial agents alters the normal flora of the colon leading to overgrowth of C. difficile.
C. difficile produces toxins A and B which contribute to the development of CDAD.  Hypertoxin producing strains of C. difficile cause increased morbidity and mortality, as these infections can be refractory to antimicrobial therapy and may require colectomy.  CDAD must be considered in all patients who present with diarrhea following antibiotic use.  Careful medical history is necessary since CDAD has been reported to occur over two months after the administration of antibacterial agents.
If CDAD is suspected or confirmed, ongoing antibiotic use not directed against C. difficile may need to be discontinued. Appropriate fluid and electrolyte management, protein supplementation, antibiotic treatment of C. difficile, and surgical evaluation should be instituted as clinically indicated.

## Precautions
The possibility of superinfections with mycotic or bacterial pathogens should be kept in mind during therapy.  If superinfections occur, amoxicillin should be discontinued and appropriate therapy instituted.
A high percentage of patients with mononucleosis who receive ampicillin develop an erythematous skin rash. Thus, ampicillin-class antibiotics should not be administered to patients with mononucleosis.
Prescribing amoxicillin capsules, amoxicillin tablets, amoxicillin tablets (chewable) and amoxicillin for oral suspension in the absence of a proven or strongly suspected bacterial infection or a prophylactic indication is unlikely to provide benefit to the patient and increases the risk of the development of drug-resistant bacteria.
Phenylketonurics: Each 125 mg amoxicillin tablet (chewable) contains 1.4 mg phenylalanine; each 200 mg chewable tablet contains 4.5 mg phenylalanine; each 250 mg chewable tablet contains 2.8 mg phenylalanine; each 400 mg chewable tablet contains 9 mg phenylalanine.
As with any potent drug, periodic assessment of renal, hepatic, and hematopoietic function should be made during prolonged therapy.
All patients with gonorrhea should have a serologic test for syphilis at the time of diagnosis. Patients treated with amoxicillin should have a follow-up serologic test for syphilis after 3 months.
Probenecid decreases the renal tubular secretion of amoxicillin. Concurrent use of amoxicillin and probenecid may result in increased and prolonged blood levels of amoxicillin.
Chloramphenicol, macrolides, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines may interfere with the bactericidal effects of penicillin. This has been demonstrated in vitro; however, the clinical significance of this interaction is not well documented.
In common with other antibiotics, amoxicillin may affect the gut flora, leading to lower estrogen reabsorption and reduced efficacy of combined oral estrogen/progesterone contraceptives.
High urine concentrations of ampicillin may result in false-positive reactions when testing for the presence of glucose in urine using CLINITEST, Benedicts Solution, or Fehlings Solution. Since this effect may also occur with amoxicillin, it is recommended that glucose tests based on enzymatic glucose oxidase reactions (such as CLINISTIX) be used.
Following administration of ampicillin to pregnant women, a transient decrease in plasma concentration of total conjugated estriol, estriol-glucuronide, conjugated estrone, and estradiol has been noted. This effect may also occur with amoxicillin.
Long-term studies in animals have not been performed to evaluate carcinogenic potential. Studies to detect mutagenic potential of amoxicillin alone have not been conducted; however, the following information is available from tests on a 4:1 mixture of amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate. Amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate was non-mutagenic in the Ames bacterial mutation assay, and the yeast gene conversion assay. Amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate was weakly positive in the mouse lymphoma assay, but the trend toward increased mutation frequencies in this assay occurred at doses that were also associated with decreased cell survival.
Amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate was negative in the mouse micronucleus test, and in the dominant lethal assay in mice. Potassium clavulanate alone was tested in the Ames bacterial mutation assay and in the mouse micronucleus test, and was negative in each of these assays. In a multi-generation reproduction study in rats, no impairment of fertility or other adverse reproductive effects were seen at doses up to 500 mg/kg (approximately 3 times the human dose in mg/m2).
Teratogenic Effects. Pregnancy Category B.Reproduction studies have been performed in mice and rats at doses up to 10 times the human dose and have revealed no evidence of impaired fertility or harm to the fetus due to amoxicillin. There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, this drug should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.
Oral ampicillin-class antibiotics are poorly absorbed during labor. Studies in guinea pigs showed that intravenous administration of ampicillin slightly decreased the uterine tone and frequency of contractions but moderately increased the height and duration of contractions. However, it is not known whether use of amoxicillin in humans during labor or delivery has immediate or delayed adverse effects on the fetus, prolongs the duration of labor, or increases the likelihood that forceps delivery or other obstetrical intervention or resuscitation of the newborn will be necessary.
Penicillins have been shown to be excreted in human milk. Amoxicillin use by nursing mothers may lead to sensitization of infants.  Caution should be exercised when amoxicillin is administered to a nursing woman.
Because of incompletely developed renal function in neonates and young infants, the elimination of amoxicillin may be delayed. Dosing of amoxicillin should be modified in pediatric patients 12 weeks or younger ( 3 months). (See DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATIONNeonates and infants.)
An analysis of clinical studies of amoxicillin was conducted to determine whether subjects aged 65 and over respond differently from younger subjects. Of the 1,811 subjects treated with capsules of amoxicillin, 85% were < 60 years old, 15% were  61 years old and 7% were  71 years old. This analysis and other reported clinical experience have not identified differences in responses between the elderly and younger patients, but a greater sensitivity of some older individuals cannot be ruled out.
This drug is known to be substantially excreted by the kidney, and the risk of toxic reactions to this drug may be greater in patients with impaired renal function. Because elderly patients are more likely to have decreased renal function, care should be taken in dose selection, and it may be useful to monitor renal function.
Amoxicillin may be taken every 8 hours or every 12 hours, depending on the strength of the product prescribed.
Patients should be counseled that antibacterial drugs, including amoxicillin capsules, amoxicillin tablets, amoxicillin tablets (chewable) and amoxicillin for oral suspension should only be used to treat bacterial infections. They do not treat viral infections (e.g., the common cold). When amoxicillin capsules, amoxicillin tablets, amoxicillin tablets (chewable) and amoxicillin for oral suspension is prescribed to treat a bacterial infection, patients should be told that although it is common to feel better early in the course of therapy, the medication should be taken exactly as directed. Skipping doses or not completing the full course of therapy may: (1) decrease the effectiveness of the immediate treatment, and (2) increase the likelihood that bacteria will develop resistance and will not be treatable by amoxicillin capsules, amoxicillin tablets, amoxicillin tablets (chewable) and amoxicillin for oral suspension or other antibacterial drugs in the future.
Diarrhea is a common problem caused by antibiotics which usually ends when the antibiotic is discontinued. Sometimes after starting treatment with antibiotics, patients can develop watery and bloody stools (with or without stomach cramps and fever) even as late as 2 or more months after having taken the last dose of the antibiotic.  If this occurs, patients should contact their physician as soon as possible.