image by: David Kalsbeek

HWN Suggests

A Search for the Flavor of a Beloved Childhood Medicine

Until about middle school, I got an annual ear infection, as well as a bout of strep throat about once every two years. For these ailments, I would inevitably be prescribed what was referred to in my home as “the pink stuff.” It was the antibiotic amoxicillin, in its pediatric liquid form, and it was a bright, chemical pink. It was delicious. My recurrent infections may have given me more experience with amoxicillin than the average child, but the flavor was beloved enough that the internet nostalgia factory has picked up on it. A subreddit dedicated to nostalgia has a couple posts about it, one with more than 13,000 likes. There are rhapsodic tweets, and pins on Pinterest, and the pink…

read full article

Articles of Interest

Amoxicillin (Amoxil): Drug Whys

Amoxicillin is a semisynthetic antibiotic derived from penicillin (actually a chemical analog of ampicillin). It has a spectrum of antimicrobial activity nearly indistinguishable from ampicillin. Amoxicillin seems to have a lower incidence of diarrhea than ampicillin. Comparable doses of amoxicillin produce higher blood and urine drug levels than ampicillin.

Amoxicillin Allergy-Still Stamping It Out

Children mislabeled as penicillin-allergic have more medical visits, receive more antibiotic prescriptions, and have longer hospitalizations with more antibiotic-related complications

Amoxicillin Rash: Probably NOT an Allergy

Your child just happens to be one of the “1 in 10 kids” whose skin erupts in a mild, harmless rash.

Amoxicillin: 7 things you should know

Amoxicillin is an antibiotic that kills bacteria by inhibiting the synthesis of cell wall mucopeptides (crystal lattice-like structures composed of amino acids that make up the cell wall). This weakens and destroys the bacterial cell wall.

Common harms from amoxicillin: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials for any indication

The most common antibiotic used in primary care is amoxicillin, either alone or in combination with clavulanic acid. “Common harms” can be defined as those frequent enough to be observable in the patient samples of most randomized trials and occurring during the recording of primary outcomes in such studies (with recognition that some of the adverse effects will occur later).

That Is Not an Ear Infection

Why are doctors so quick to prescribe antibiotics to your (wailing) toddler?

The Amoxicillin Shortage – What Happened to Care of Acute Otitis Media?

What I found fascinating, though, was that the proportion of children receiving no antibiotic, i.e., the proportion treated with “watchful waiting”, was apparently not changed by the shortage

Well-known antibiotic amoxycillin found to be ineffective cough treatment

“Using amoxycillin to treat respiratory infections in patients not suspected of having pneumonia is not likely to help and could be harmful,” said Professor Paul Little from the University of Southampton in the UK who led the research. He added that overuse of antibiotics could also lead to side effects such diarrhoea, rash, and vomiting, in addition to the development of resistance.

What to Know About Amoxicillin

Amoxicillin is effective against numerous strains, including streptococci, pneumococci, H. pylori, and Chlamydia. Infections by these and other bacteria are responsible for various medical conditions:

Resources

7 Amoxicillin Interactions You Should Know About

Amoxicillin can interact with medications like warfarin, allopurinol, and probenecid. It may also interact with alcohol and some live vaccines.

Amoxil

Except for gonorrhea, treatment should be continued for a minimum of 48 to 72 hours beyond the time that the patient becomes asymptomatic or evidence of bacterial eradication has been obtained. It is recommended that there be at least 10 days’ treatment for any infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes to prevent the occurrence of acute rheumatic fever. In some infections, therapy may be required for several weeks. It may be necessary to continue clinical and/or bacteriological follow-up for several months after cessation of therapy.

USAntibiotics

Amoxicillin is the #1 prescribed antibiotic in the U.S. and among the top 20 medicines prescribed annually. And today, we’re the largest finished dosage form manufacturing facility for penicillin-class beta-lactam antibiotics—and the only U.S. FDA approved production site for Amoxil® and Augmentin® oral dose testing, manufacturing and packaging. At full capacity, we can produce billions of doses of American-made antibiotics on an annual basis.

StatPearls

Amoxicillin is effective against a wide range of gram-positive bacteria, offering additional coverage against some gram-negative organisms compared to penicillin.