Complete adverse effect profile including incidence rates and management
Important Safety Information
This is not a complete list of all possible side effects. Contact your healthcare provider if you experience any unexpected symptoms. For serious or life-threatening side effects, seek emergency medical attention immediately.
ADVERSE REACTIONS As with other penicillins, it may be expected that untoward reactions will be essentially limited to sensitivity phenomena.
They are more likely to occur in individuals who have previously demonstrated hypersensitivity to penicillins and in those with a history of allergy, asthma, hay fever, or urticaria.
The following adverse reactions have been reported as associated with the use of ampicillin: Gastrointestinal Glossitis, stomatitis, black “hairy” tongue, nausea, vomiting, enterocolitis, pseudomembranous colitis, and diarrhea.
(These reactions are usually associated with oral dosage forms.) Hypersensitivity Reactions Skin rashes and urticaria have been reported frequently.
A few cases of exfoliative dermatitis and erythema multiforme have been reported.
Linear IgA bullous dermatosis has been reported.
Anaphylaxis is the most serious reaction experienced and has usually been associated with the parenteral dosage form.
Note: Urticaria, other skin rashes, and serum sickness-like reactions may be controlled with antihistamines and, if necessary, systemic corticosteroids.
Whenever such reactions occur, ampicillin should be discontinued, unless, in the opinion of the physician, the condition being treated is life-threatening and amenable only to ampicillin therapy.
Serious anaphylactic reactions require the immediate use of epinephrine, oxygen, and intravenous steroids.
WARNINGS Serious and occasionally fatal hypersensitivity (anaphylactoid) reactions have been reported in patients on penicillin therapy.
Although anaphylaxis is more frequent following parenteral therapy, it has occurred in patients on oral penicillins.
These reactions are more apt to occur in individuals with a history of penicillin hypersensitivity and/or a history of sensitivity to multiple allergens.
There have been well-documented reports of individuals with a history of penicillin hypersensitivity reactions who have experienced severe hypersensitivity reactions when treated with a cephalosporin.
Before initiating therapy with a penicillin, careful inquiry should be made concerning previous hypersensitivity reactions to penicillins, cephalosporins, and other allergens.
Like all medications, Ampicillin can cause side effects. However, not everyone who takes this medication will experience them. Many side effects are dose-dependent and may improve as your body adjusts to the medication. Others may require dose adjustment or medical attention.
Contact your healthcare provider promptly if you experience:
Seek immediate emergency medical care if you experience signs of: