A penicillin drug containing a mixture of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.
Because it is a more powerful antibiotic than amoxicillin alone, co-amoxiclav is used to treat infections caused by amoxicillin-resistant strains of bacteria.
see beta-lactam antibiotic.
one of a group of drugs that includes the *penicillins and the *cephalosporins. All have a four-membered beta-lactam ring as part of their molecular structure. Beta-lactam antibiotics function by interfering with the growth of the cell walls of multiplying bacteria. Bacteria become resistant to these antibiotics by producing beta-lactamases, enzymes (such as *penicillinase) that disrupt the beta-lactam ring. To counteract this, beta-lactamase inhibitors (e.g. *clavulanic acid) may be added to beta-lactam antibiotics. For example, co-amoxiclav is a mixture of *amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.... beta-lactam antibiotic
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