Medical uses

Amoxicillin BP

Amoxicillin is used in the treatment of a number of infections, including acute otitis media,
streptococcal pharyngitis, pneumonia, skin infections, urinary tract infections, Salmonella
infections, Lyme disease, and chlamydia infections.[3][12]

Acute otitis media

Children with acute otitis media who are younger than 6 months of age are generally treated with
amoxicillin or other antibiotic. Although most children with acute otitis media who are older
than two years old do not benefit from treatment with amoxicillin or other antibiotic, such
treatment may be helpful in children younger than two years old with acute otitis media that is
bilateral or accompanied by ear drainage.[13]In the past, amoxicillin was dosed three times daily
when used to treat acute otitis media, which resulted in missed doses in routine ambulatory
practice. There is now evidence that two times daily dosing or once daily dosing has similar
effectiveness.[14]

Respiratory infections

Amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate have been recommended by guidelines as the drug of

choice for bacterial sinusitis and other respiratory infections.[12] Most sinusitis infections are
caused by viruses, for which amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate are ineffective,[15] and the
small benefit gained by amoxicillin may be overridden by the adverse effects.[16] Amoxicillin is
recommended as the preferred first-line treatment for community-acquired pneumonia in adults
by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, either alone (mild to moderate severity
disease) or in combination with a macrolide.[17] The World Health Organization recommends
amoxicillin as first-line treatment for pneumonia that is not "severe".[18] Amoxicillin is used in
post-exposure inhalation of anthrax to prevent disease progression and for prophylaxis.[12]

H. pylori

It is effective as one part of a multi-drug regimen for treatment of stomach infections of

Helicobacter pylori. It is typically combined with a proton-pump inhibitor (such as omeprazole)
and a macrolide antibiotic (such as clarithromycin); other drug combinations are also
effective.[19]

Lyme borreliosis

Amoxicillin is effective for treatment of early cutaneous Lyme borreliosis; the effectiveness and
safety of oral amoxicillin is neither better nor worse than common alternatively-used
antibiotics.[20]

Skin infections

Amoxicillin is occasionally used for the treatment of skin infections,[12] such as acne vulgaris.[21]
It is often an effective treatment for cases of acne vulgaris that have responded poorly to other
antibiotics, such as doxycycline and minocycline.[22]

Infections in infants in resource-limited settings

Amoxicillin is recommended by the World Health Organization for the treatment of infants with
signs and symptoms of pneumonia in resource-limited situations when the parents are unable or
unwilling to accept hospitalization of the child. Amoxicillin in combination with gentamicin is
recommended for the treatment of infants with signs of other severe infections when
hospitalization is not an option.[23]

Prevention of bacterial endocarditis

It is also used to prevent bacterial endocarditis in high-risk people having dental work done, to
prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae and other encapsulated bacterial infections in those without
spleens, such as people with sickle-cell disease, and for both the prevention and the treatment of
anthrax.[3] The United Kingdom recommends against its use for infectious endocarditis
prophylaxis.[24] These recommendations do not appear to have changed the rates of infection for
infectious endocarditis.[25]