Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Pivampicillin
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Pivampicillin is a pivaloyloxymethyl ester of ampicillin. It is a prodrug, which is thought to enhance the oral bioavailability of ampicillin because of its greater lipophilicity compared to that of ampicillin.
Adverse effects
Adverse effects
Prodrugs that release pivalic acid when broken down by the body—such as pivampicillin, pivmecillinam and cefditoren pivoxil—have long been known to deplete levels of carnitine.[1][2] This is not due to the drug itself, but to pivalate, which is mostly removed from the body by forming a conjugate with carnitine. Although short-term use of these drugs can cause a marked decrease in blood levels of carnitine,[3] it is unlikely to be of clinical significance;[2] long-term use, however, appears problematic and is not recommended.[2][4][5]
References
References
- ↑ Holme E; Greter J; Jacobson CE; et al. (August 1989). “Carnitine deficiency induced by pivampicillin and pivmecillinam therapy”. Lancet. 2 (8661): 469–73. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(89)92086-2. PMID 2570185. Unknown parameter
|author-separator=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Brass EP (December 2002). “Pivalate-generating prodrugs and carnitine homeostasis in man”. Pharmacol Rev. 54 (4): 589–98. doi:10.1124/pr.54.4.589. PMID 12429869.
- ↑ Abrahamsson K, Holme E, Jodal U, Lindstedt S, Nordin I (June 1995). “Effect of short-term treatment with pivalic acid containing antibiotics on serum carnitine concentration—a risk irrespective of age”. Biochem. Mol. Med. 55 (1): 77–9. doi:10.1006/bmme.1995.1036. PMID 7551831.
- ↑ Holme E, Jodal U, Linstedt S, Nordin I (September 1992). “Effects of pivalic acid-containing prodrugs on carnitine homeostasis and on response to fasting in children”. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 52 (5): 361–72. doi:10.3109/00365519209088371. PMID 1514015.
- ↑ Makino Y, Sugiura T, Ito T, Sugiyama N, Koyama N (September 2007). “Carnitine-associated encephalopathy caused by long-term treatment with an antibiotic containing pivalic acid”. Pediatrics. 120 (3): e739–41. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-0339. PMID 17724113.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]