Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Clindamycin (rINN; pronounced ) is a lincosamide antibiotic. It is usually used to treat infections with anaerobic bacteria but can also be used to treat some protozoal diseases, such as malaria. It is a common topical treatment for acne and can be useful against some methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The most severe common adverse effect of clindamycin is Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (the most frequent cause of pseudomembranous colitis). Although this side-effect occurs with almost all antibiotics, including beta-lactam antibiotics, it is classically linked to clindamycin use. Clindamycin is marketed under various trade names, including Dalacin, Duac, BenzaClin, and Clindoxyl and Acanya (in combination with benzoyl peroxide), and Ziana (with tretinoin). Clindamycin is also available as a generic drug. Clindamycin is used primarily to treat infections caused by susceptible anaerobic bacteria, including infections of the respiratory tract, skin and soft tissue infections, and peritonitis. In patients with hypersensitivity to penicillins, clindamycin may be used to treat infections caused by susceptible aerobic bacteria as well. It is also used to treat bone and joint infections, particularly those caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Topical application of clindamycin phosphate can be used to treat mild to moderate acne. Multiple studies have shown the use of clindamycin in conjunction with benzoyl peroxide, which is available both through prescription or over-the-counter, to be more effective in the treatment of acne than the use of either product by itself. A single-blind study comparing this combination to adapalene, a retinoid, also found it to work faster and be significantly better tolerated than ada. More:
| | Lincosamide Antibiotics: Clindamycin, Lincomycin, Lincosamides, Pirlimycin |  | 8.69 |  |