Tinidazole, sold under the brand name Tindamax among others, is a medication used against protozoan infections. It is widely known throughout Europe and the developing world as a treatment for a variety of

anaerobic Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to: *Adhesive#Anaerobic, Anaerobic ad ...

amoebic An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; : amoebas (less commonly, amebas) or amoebae (amebae) ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and r ...

and bacterial infections. It was developed in 1972 and is a prominent member of the

nitroimidazole Nitroimidazoles are the group of organic compound, organic compounds consisting of an imidazole ring with at least one nitro group substituent. The term also refers to the class of antibiotics that have nitroimidazole in their structures. These an ...

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 ...

class. It is on the

World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (aka Essential Medicines List or EML), published by the World Health Organization (WHO), contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health s ...

Medical uses

Tinidazole may be a therapeutic alternative in the setting of metronidazole intolerance. Tinidazole is used to treat ''Helicobacter pylori'',

Amoebic dysentery Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasitic amoeba '' Entamoeba histolytica''. Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include lethargy, loss of weight, coloni ...

, ''

Giardia ''Giardia'' ( or ) is a genus of anaerobic flagellated protozoan parasites of the phylum Metamonada that colonise and reproduce in the small intestines of several vertebrates, causing the disease giardiasis. Their life cycle alternates be ...

'' and ''

Trichomonas vaginalis ''Trichomonas vaginalis'' is an Anaerobic organism, anaerobic, flagellated protozoan parasite and the causative agent of a Sexually transmitted infection, sexually transmitted disease called trichomoniasis. It is the most common pathogenic protoz ...

''.

Side effects

Drinking alcohol while taking tinidazole causes an unpleasant

disulfiram Disulfiram is a medication used to support the treatment of chronic alcoholism by producing an acute sensitivity to ethanol (drinking alcohol). Disulfiram works by Enzyme inhibition, inhibiting the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (specifically ALD ...

-like reaction, which includes nausea, vomiting, headache, increased blood pressure, flushing, and shortness of breath.

Pharmacology

Pharmacokinetics

Elimination half-life is 13.2 ± 1.4 hours. Plasma half-life is 12 to 14 hours.

History

Tinidazole was approved for treatment of bacterial vaginosis in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2007.

References