Ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, or co-ticarclav, is a combination
antibiotic
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy, ...
consisting of
ticarcillin
Ticarcillin is a carboxypenicillin. It can be sold and used in combination with clavulanate as ticarcillin/clavulanic acid. Because it is a penicillin, it also falls within the larger class of beta-lactam antibiotics. Its main clinical use is as ...
, a
β-lactam antibiotic
β-lactam antibiotics (beta-lactam antibiotics) are antibiotics that contain a beta-lactam ring in their chemical
structure. This includes penicillin derivatives ( penams), cephalosporins and cephamycins ( cephems), monobactams, carbapenems and ...
, and
clavulanic acid, a
β-lactamase inhibitor
Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteria that provide multi-resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamycins, monobactams and carbapenems ( ertapenem), although carbapenem ...
. This combination results in an antibiotic with an increased spectrum of action and restored efficacy against ticarcillin-resistant
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...
that produce certain
β-lactamase
Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteria that provide multi-resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamycins, monobactams and carbapenems ( ertapenem), although carbapenem ...
s.
GlaxoSmithKline. Date of Revision: February 7, 2014
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References
Combination antibiotics
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