Piperacillin

Piperacillin is an antibacterial medicine that kills bacteria causing the infection.

It may be recommended for the following conditions:

• Urinary tract infections.
• Acute cholangitis, an inflammation of the bile duct system.
• Pneumonia.
• Lung inflammation caused by inherited lung disease (cystic fibrosis) in children.
• Infections that affect your stomach and intestines.
• To treat bacterial infections that affect your womb or organs of reproduction.

Piperacillin is an antibiotic medicine that is used to treat infections caused by bacteria. It is usually injected into the vein or muscle. Your healthcare provider can give Piperacillin after another medicine (probenecid), reducing how your kidney removes it from your blood, increasing the time of action without increasing the dose. It is effective against uncomplicated gonorrhoea, urinary tract infections, community-acquired pneumonia and cholangitis.

Piperacillin is a prescription-only medicine. It is not useful against viral infections like the the common cold or flu.

• Piperacillin is available as a powder for injection. Your healthcare provider will dissolve it and inject you as appropriate.
• Your healthcare provider will decide how long you need to take this medicine, depending on the type of infection you have.
• You must finish the treatment as recommended by your healthcare provider, even if you begin to feel better before completing your prescribed treatment. Finishing your drugs as prescribed reduces your risk of having an infection that becomes difficult to treat.

• You may experience pain or irritation at the place where you were given the injection.
• You may experience a headache or feel drowsy.
• You may have a skin rash or itching.
• You may feel like vomiting.
• You may pass frequent watery stools or find it difficult to pass stools.

This is not a complete list of side-effects. You should see your healthcare provider if these or other unpleasant effects of this medicine last for a week or more.

To reduce your risk of having unpleasant side-effects:

• Do not take this medicine if you have had a drug reaction to piperacillin or other similar drugs such as penicillin before.
• If you have kidney problems, your healthcare provider may need to adjust your dose.