Azithromycin

Azithromycin

April 16

2015

Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic. With both good relief

properties, but even with every good antibiotic, there are side

effects. The side effects are bad, but they do exist including upset

stomach, vomiting, or loose stool (diarrhea). These side effects are

mild compared to the other health problems azithromycin can

cause. There are good qualities of this drug because it is so

versatile, being able to cures so many infections and diseases like

sexual transmitted diseases (chlamydia), infections in the ears and

mouth (strep throat).

Brian

Schneebeli

Azithromycin April 16, 2015

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Azithromycin comes in a white crystalline powder or pill form that should be taken

orally. The pills are modified in either two hundred and fifty or five hundred milligram pills . The

pills are white and film-coated and contain a list of different ingredients instead of just the

azithromycin, including dibasic, calcium phosphate anhydrous, pregelatinized starch, sodium

croscarmellose, magnesium stearate, sodium lauryl sulfate, hypromellose, lactose, titanium

dioxide, triacetin, and D&C Red #30 aluminum lake. Another name for azithromycin is

Zithromax, which is also a pill, but also can be a powder that has azithromycin dehydrate with

three hundred, six hundred, nine hundred, and twelve hundred milligram bottles. The pills nor

do the powders have an odor to them. The powder and the pill are in fat insoluble to water.

The molecular weight of this semi-synthetic macrolide antibiotic is seven hundred and fourth-

nine. I could no acquire a freezing point of azithromycin given the molecular bond and

properties.

Azithromycin is used to treat people with mild to moderate infections of the respiratory

system, middle ear infections, sexual transmitted diseases, skin infections, and cervicitis. This

does not include or work against any viruses or fungal infection or any kind. The melting point

of azithromycin is between one hundred and thirteen to one hundred and fifteen degrees

Celsius. The boiling point happens to be quite higher, being around eight hundred and twenty

two degrees Celsius or one thousand and twelve degrees Fahrenheit! Humans can and have


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over dose on azithromycin if taking over two thousand milligrams of it which if patient has a

hypersensitivity to the drug, they can die from toxicity! Sixty five out of one million patients

that are proscribed azithromycin will die from over dose or toxicity. In 2012 over fifty million

proscriptions were proscribed in the United States , so if you do the math out that means about

three thousand two hundred and fifty people in 2012 died from this drug alone. The drug was

administrated and approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994. In 2005, this record

breaking drug produced about two billion dollars in is total sales . With the patent protection

lost in 2006, the drug has over twenty variations of generic drugs now available stock and profit

for the name brand drug has gone down significantly. Now a standard azithromycin pack can

cost with some insurance companies only six dollars and up.

For a drug to be approved by the FDA there is a rigorous process consisting of a seven

step process. Step one is animal testing, sponsors companies, and institutions are responsible

for the cost of the drug research and design. Preclinical testing can start on laboratory animals

then move to human testing after proposing what the drug or medication does to humans . Step

two is the IND application. This application is when the drug is ready to go to human testing

and goes for review by the FDA. After approved by the FDA human testing can begin. Step

three is phase one of human testing on healthy humans . Phase one is determines how often

side effects are from the drug use, how is metabolized, and excreted. The test subjects range

from twenty to eighty years old. After phase three is prove to not cause toxicity, the process


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move on to stage four which is effectiveness of the drug. Phase four is a test of anywhere from

a few dozen to three hundred patients all receiving either the drug or a placebo. Phase five is

an agreement between the sponsors and FDA to come up with a third and final testing on a

large scale. After the large scale test a review meeting is needed to discuss between the drug

sponsors and FDA. In this meeting both parties talk about the safety, efficacy, and use of this

drug and how to market it properly. After the information is discussed between both parties

the drug moved on to phase six, the NDA application. Phase six is the new drug application.

This is the formal way of the sponsor to ask the FDA for approval for marketing in the United

States. The new drug application will include all animal and human testing data, analyses of all

data, all information about how the drug behaves in the body, and how the drug has been

manufactured. Phase seven starts when the application reaches the FDA. The FDA now has

sixty days to determine if the drug will be reviewed or not. After the drug is approved for

review the drug can take up to ten months to be reviewed. Most priority drugs take up to six

months. After all this process the drug is approved for marketing and selling to the public .

The drug has many side effects from cardiovascular (chest pain), nervous system

(Headache, dizziness, insomnia), flu like syntheses including cough, sneezing, diarrhea, and

sweating. Special case side effects include conjunctivitis . There are also allergic reactions

including rashes and allergic reactions. Fever can arise, but the most interesting and most

serious side effects are eczema, fungal dermatitis, pruritus, vesicuobullous rash. Serious liver


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dysfunction has been reported. Vertigo has been formed due to over dose of azithromycin. Also

loss of hearing or loss of taste has also been reported by using this drug . There are yet to be

information provided if nursing mothers, or pregnant women, but with such extreme side

effects of this drug, it is not recommended. In a study done involving more than five thousand

patient, four patients stopped because of the adverse liver related enzyme abnormalities and

renal (eye) function abnormalities. Another effect that azithromycin can take is yellowing of the

skin and eyes due to a stress of the drug on the liver. This disorder is also called jaundice. This

drug is also dangerous when a patient has low blood potassium, magnesium, or slow

heartbeat.

Taking Azithromycin with alcohol can cause dizziness , blurred vision, and increase in

urine flew or excretion. The blurred vision is experienced within a few hours of taking the

medication. If alcohol is taken with this medication this does not mean that took it directly

with the medication, but more that it was taken while it was in your system. The frequent

urination happens because of the azithromycin staying in the body longer than most antibiotics,

which it is designed to do. Being that the antibiotic causes stress on the liver and combined

with the stress of the alcohol causes the liver to go in order drive. This causes the liver kidneys

to process water and other fluids faster than normal. The more a person drinks with this

medication in their system the quicker the medication will go through the system and not help

the problem.


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Herbs and vitamin supplements can and may alter the effects of azithromycin. This

drug can also cause the user to burn from the sun easier. People taking this antibiotic should

avoid tanning booths or other forms of head also heating lamps . Sunscreen is also highly

recommended while outside and can help protect the more sensitive skin from the harmful rays

from the sun.

Azithromycin is also used to help cats, dogs, and other small animals. The animals

receive once a day tablets orally. The Federal Drug Administration does not approve of the use

of this drug on animals. This does not stop most veterinarians from prescribing it to the animals

that they oversee and treat. Azithromycin is prescribed to animals for bacterial infections in

pets. The medication that is distributed to the animals is not directly azithromycin, but it is a

variation of the medication. The FDA does not approve of any products consisting of

azithromycin, but veterinarians can prescribe “compounded azithromycin”. This means that it

is going to be the appropriate size, dosage, and strength for the animal’s weight and size. The

pills distributed are also altered with different flavors and texture making it easy for animals to

eat and ingest. A common side effect due to the azithromycin in animals would be in the

digestive tract, causing nausea leading to vomiting. Drug interaction due to this “compounded

azithromycin,” can include affected blood levels of oral cyclosporine or oral antacids .

Azithromycin and other drugs were co-administered with a variety of other drugs

including: pharmacokinetics of atorvastatin, carbamazepine, cetirizine, didanosine, efavirenz,


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fluconazole, indinavir, midazolam, rifabutin, sildenafil, theophylline, triazolam, trimethoprim,

sulfamethoxazole and there were no dosage adjustment of either drug is recommended with

the azithromycin. There has never been any clinical trial co-administered with azithromycin that

has caused a problem. A few drugs that can cause a reaction in the liver with azithromycin

would be viracept, theolair, lanoxin, halcion, dilantin, and neoral. These drugs are not at the

drugs that can interfere or react with the drug, but you should always tell your doctor all the

medications that you are taking, but prescribing azithromycin.

This chemical is not found in nature at all, it is a semi-synthetic antibiotic. Azithromycin

was used in the 1990’s to be the cure for chlamydia. This strain of bacterium was the cause of

trachoma, or roughness in the eye lid that can scratch or breakdown the surface of the cornea

causing possible blindness. There was an epidemic in the United States of trachoma.

Azithromycin was used in the slums in mass vaccinations in 1998 to help stop the epidemic.

During the epidemic it was estimated that over forty million people died including men,

women, children, and babies! The disease was spreading so fast because of poor hygienic,

water storages, overcrowded areas, or just being around a person that is infected with the

disease.

In the 1970’s the Croatian Pharmaceutical Company put together a research team lead

by Dr. Slobodan Dokic, who had been working in antibodies, but was unsuccessful until 1981. In

1981, his team of researchers, Gabrijela Kobrehal, Zrinka Tamburasev, and Gorjana Radobolija-


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Lazarevski finally synthesisted an antibiotic named Azalides. Azithromycin was obstructed from

the erythromycin molecule. The drug was finally patented in 1981, and founded by Pfizer’s

scientist. The agreement was finally written up in 1986, giving then the right for the sale of

azithromycin in Western Europe and in the United States , but azithromycin was not the brand

name the brand name was Zithromax in 1991.

This drug is so interested because of how many diseases and infections it cures, but the

most interesting fact is that it cured an epidemic! This drug is so helpful; nurses use this drug

every day to cure diseases that occur in hospitals , but also with people with sexual transmitted

diseases, ear infections, and strep throat. I have personal used this antibiotic since I was about

thirteen years of age because I get strep throat at least twice a year, after learning about all the

facts about this drug I believe that I will start to take a look at other options rather than

azithromycin including amoxicillin or penicillin.

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Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic. With both good relief properties, but even with

every good antibiotic, there are side effects. The side effects are bad, but they do exist

including upset stomach, vomiting, or loose stool (diarrhea). These side effects are mild

compared to the other health problems azithromycin can cause. There are good qualities of this

drug because it is so versatile, being able to cures so many infections and diseases like sexual

transmitted diseases (chlamydia), infections in the ears and mouth (strep throat).


9

Work Cited

S, W. (2008, March 31). Azithromycin in brief . Retrieved from emedexpert.com

Batt, S. L. (2011, June). Impoving global vision: The path to eliminating trachoma. Retrieved

from nei.nih.gov

Rx List inc. (2013, March 12). Zithromax. Retrieved from rxlist.com

Kluwer, W. (2013, June 06). azithromycin. Retrieved from Drugs.com

U.S Food and Drug Administration. (2013, March 18). Fda drug safety communication:

Azithromycin (zithromax or zmax) and the risk of potentially fatal heart rhythms.

Retrieved from Drugs.com

Thomson Healthcare Inc. (2013, November 03). Azithromycin (oral route) . Retrieved from

Mayoclinic.com

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. (2013, May 22). Azithromycin for people with cf: Is it right for

you?. Retrieved from cff.org

Azithromycin

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