Meropenem

Information about Meropenem

Meropenem is a carbapenem antibiotic with broad spectrum of activity that is administered intravenously and used for severe bacterial infections due to sensitive agents.

Liver safety of Meropenem

Meropenem is a common cause of mild transient aminotransferase elevations and can rarely result in clinically apparent, cholestatic liver injury.

Mechanism of action of Meropenem

Meropenem (mer" oh pen' em) is a broad spectrum, beta-lactam carbapenem antibiotic that acts by binding to the penicillin binding proteins and disrupting bacterial cell wall integrity and synthesis.

Meropenem has a broad spectrum of activity against many aerobic and anaerobic gram-positive and gram-negative organisms, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, viridans group streptococci, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Bacteroides fragilis and Peptostreptococcus species.

FDA approval information for Meropenem

Meropenem was approved for use in the United States in 1996 and is currently indicated for the treatment of severe or complicated skin, tissue, intraabdominal and urogenital infections as well as sepsis due to susceptible organisms. Its use is generally reserved for severe infections in hospitalized patients.

Dosage and administration for Meropenem

The recommended dosage is 0.5 to 1 gram given intravenously every 8 hours, with dose adjustment for renal impairment. Meropenem is available in vials of 500 mg or 1 gram of lyophilized powder for injection in generic forms and under the brand name Merrem.

Side effects of Meropenem

The most common side effects are diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, skin rash and pruritus.

List of carbapenems

• Doripenem
• Ertapenem
• Imipenem
• Meropenem

• Dailymed label info on Meropenem
• FDA Meropenem

Meropenem Resources
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