Gastrointestinal Side Effects of Clavulanate

Introduction to Gastrointestinal Side Effects

• The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery reports that gastrointestinal side effects, particularly diarrhea, are the most common and problematic with clavulanate, being significantly more frequent when the dose of clavulanate exceeds approximately 10 mg/kg per day 1, 2

Dosage and Administration

• The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery recommends that dosing three times a day is associated with a significantly higher incidence of gastrointestinal side effects compared to dosing twice a day 1, 2
• When clavulanate exceeds 10 mg/kg/day, diarrhea becomes especially problematic 1, 2

Comparison with Other Antibiotics

• The European Rhinology society reports that in comparative studies, ciprofloxacin was better tolerated than amoxicillin/clavulanate, with only 12.4% of patients reporting at least one adverse event versus 25% with amoxicillin/clavulanate (p=0.012) 3, 4