Clinical data | |
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Trade names | Merrem, others |
AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
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Routes of administration | Intravenous |
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Pharmacokinetic data | |
Bioavailability | 100% |
Protein binding | Approximately 2% |
Elimination half-life | 1 hour |
Excretion | Kidney |
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ECHA InfoCard | 100.169.299 |
Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C17H25N3O5S |
Molar mass | 383.46 g·mol−1 |
3D model (JSmol) | |
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Meropenem, sold under the brand name Merrem among others, is an intravenous carbapenem antibiotic used to treat a variety of bacterial infections.[3] Some of these include meningitis, intra-abdominal infection, pneumonia, sepsis, and anthrax.[3]
Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, constipation, headache, rash, and pain at the site of injection.[3] Serious side effects include Clostridioides difficile infection, seizures, and allergic reactions including anaphylaxis.[3] Those who are allergic to other β-lactam antibiotics are more likely to be allergic to meropenem as well.[3] Use in pregnancy appears to be safe.[3] It is in the carbapenem family of medications.[3] Meropenem usually results in bacterial death through blocking their ability to make a cell wall.[3] It is resistant to breakdown by many kinds of β-lactamase enzymes, produced by bacteria to protect themselves from antibiotics.[4][5][6]
Meropenem was patented in 1983.[7] It was approved for medical use in the United States in 1996.[3] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[8][9] The World Health Organization classifies meropenem as critically important for human medicine.[10]
pmid18713049
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).As with other β-lactam antibiotics, meropenem is bactericidal against susceptible bacteria because it inhibits bacterial cell wall synthesis. The trans configuration of the hydroxyethyl side chain and hydrogen atoms protect the parent β-lactam structure from inactivation by the most common β-lactamases, including almost all Bush groups 1 and 2 (Amber classes A, C, and D) β-lactamase–producing organisms, including those that produce ESBLs (Citrobacter, Enterobacter, E. coli, Klebsiella spp., and P. mirabilis) or AmpC β-lactamases (Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, and Serratia)