Unasyn Oral

Pharmaceutical name: Sultamicillin tosylate

Therapeutic actions:
The addition of sulbactam, a beta-lactamase inhibitor, to ampicillin extends the spectrum of ampicillin to include some beta-lactamase producing organisms; inhibits bacterial cell wall synthesis by binding to one or more of the penicillin binding proteins (PBPs); which in turn inhibits the final transpeptidation step of peptidoglycan synthesis in bacterial cell walls, thus inhibiting cell wall biosynthesis. Bacteria eventually lyse due to ongoing activity of cell wall autolytic enzymes (autolysins and murein hydrolases) while cell wall assembly is arrested.

What is it used for?:
• Skin and Skin Structure Infections;
• Intra-Abdominal Infections;
• Gynecological Infections.

Contraindications and cautions:
• allergy to any ingredient in Unasyn or any other penicillin antibiotic (eg, amoxicillin);
• taking a tetracycline antibiotic (eg, doxycycline);
• mononucleosis;
• caution if EBV, CMV infection;
• caution if ALL;
• caution if hypersens. to cephalosporins;
• caution if impaired renal fxn;
• caution if hyperuricemia;

Side effects:
diarrhea; pain, swelling, or redness at injection site.

Interactions:
• Unasyn 's effectiveness may be decreased by tetracyclines (eg, doxycycline);
• Allopurinol may increase the risk of skin rash;
• Heparin may increase the risk of bleeding;
• Unasyn may increase the risk of side effects of methotrexate;
• Unasyn may decrease effectiveness or increase the risk of their side effects of anticoagulants (eg, warfarin);
• Unasyn may decrease effectiveness of aminoglycosides (eg, gentamicin) or oral contraceptives (eg, ethinyl estradiol/norethindrone).