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The Global Insight

What class of antibiotic is metronidazole

Author

William Harris

Updated on March 27, 2026

Metronidazole is in a class of medications called nitroimidazole antimicrobials. It works by stopping the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics will not work for colds, flu, or other viral infections.

Is metronidazole a quinolone antibiotic?

Flagyl, Flagyl ER, and Flagyl Injection (metronidazole) and Cipro (ciprofloxacin) are antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections. Flagyl and Cipro are different types of antibiotics. Flagyl is a nitroimidazole antibiotic and Cipro is a quinolone antibiotic.

Is metronidazole and amoxicillin the same?

Metronidazole is an alternative to amoxicillin for the treatment of some oral infections.

Is metronidazole a sulfonamide?

Sulfonamides are synthetic, broad-spectrum bacteriostatic antibiotics. Because of associated toxicity and high rates of resistance, their use is now very limited. Metronidazole is the most important member of the 5-nitroimidazole family.

What types of infections is metronidazole used for?

Metronidazole is a medicine used to treat different types of bacterial and parasitic infections, including those that affect the skin, vagina, blood, heart, bone, stomach, liver, joints, nervous system, respiratory tract, and other areas of the body.

What do you mean by quinolones?

: any of a class of synthetic antibacterial drugs that are derivatives of hydroxylated quinolines and inhibit the replication of bacterial DNA.

Is Flagyl a broad spectrum antibiotic?

Flagyl , known as metronidazole or by the brand name Protostat, is an antibacterial drug that is classified as a broad-spectrum antibiotic. 1 Metronidazole is used to treat certain bacterial infections or protozoal infections (a type of parasite).

Is metronidazole bacteriostatic or bactericidal?

Metronidazole is a bactericidal antibiotic.

Is clavulanate a sulfa drug?

It is a penicillin type antibiotic and it does not have sulfa in it.

What is an example of a sulfonamide?

Examples of sulfonamides includes sulfadiazine, sulfamethizole (brand name: Thiosulfil Forte), sulfamethoxazole (Gantanol), sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), sulfisoxazole (Gantrisin), and various high-strength combinations of three sulfonamides. Sulfa drugs kill bacteria and fungi by interfering with cell metabolism.

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Is amoxicillin or metronidazole better?

Augmentin (amoxicillin / clavulanate) is first-choice antibiotic for most common types of infections. However, it may not work against more serious or uncommon types of infections. Flagyl (metronidazole) is good at killing a variety of bacteria.

Is metronidazole similar to penicillin?

The efficacy of metronidazole in the treatment of acute dental infections was investigated and compared with parenteral penicillin in a controlled trial. All 37 patients in the trial responded satisfactorily and metronidazole appeared to be as effective as parenteral penicillin.

Is metronidazole safe in penicillin allergy?

Urinary Tract InfectionsFemale Lower UTITrimethoprim or nitrofurantoinSkin InfectionsCellulitis (see separate protocol)DoxycyclineAnimal bitesMetronidazole + doxycycline

What is the best antibiotic for a bacterial infection?

Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics such as amoxicillin, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin.

What bacteria is treated with metronidazole?

Metronidazole is highly active against gram-negative anaerobic bacteria, such as B. fragilis, and gram-positive anaerobic bacteria, such as C. difficile. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the drug are favorable, and it is available as oral, intravenous, vaginal, and topical formulations.

Is metronidazole a generic?

Metronidazole is a generic drug. It’s also available as the brand-name drugs Flagyl, MetroCream, MetroGel, Noritate, Vandazole, and many others.

Is metronidazole a narrow spectrum antibiotics?

Metronidazole is a narrow spectrum antibiotic with undoubted efficacy against common anaerobic bacteria; resistance is unusual. Therapeutic concentrations of the drug are attained throughout most body compartments after either oral or intravenous administration.

Is metronidazole a good antibiotic?

Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is used to treat a wide variety of infections. It works by stopping the growth of certain bacteria and parasites. This antibiotic treats only certain bacterial and parasitic infections. It will not work for viral infections (such as common cold, flu).

What is Flagyl commonly prescribed for?

Flagyl is used to treat parasitic infections including Giardia infections of the small intestine, amebic liver abscess, and amebic dysentery (infection of the colon causing bloody diarrhea), bacterial vaginosis, trichomonas vaginal infections, and carriers of trichomonas (both sexual partners) who do not have symptoms …

Is Cipro a quinolone?

Ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin are the most widely used second-generation quinolones because of their availability in oral and intravenous formulations and their broad set of FDA-labeled indications.

Is azithromycin a quinolone?

Zithromax Z-PAK (azithromycin) and Cipro (ciprofloxacin) are antibiotics used to treat susceptible bacterial infections. Zithromax and Cipro belong to different antibiotic classes. Zithromax is a macrolide antibiotic and Cipro is a quinolone antibiotic.

What type of antibiotic are quinolones?

Quinolones are broad-spectrum antibiotics that are active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including mycobacteria, and anaerobes.

Which antibiotics contain sulfa?

  • Gantrisin (sulfisoxazole)
  • Bactrim or Septra (trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole)
  • Sulfadiazine.
  • Azulfidine (sulfasalazine)
  • Zonegran (zonisamide)

Is Cipro a sulfa drug?

Bactrim (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim) is a combination of two antibiotics (a sulfa drug and a folic acid inhibitor) and Cipro (ciprofloxacin) is a quinolone antibiotic. Both drug are used to treat bacterial infections such as urinary tract infections, bronchitis and other lung infections.

What antibiotic has sulfa in it?

Sulfa-containing drugs include: sulfonamide antibiotics, including sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (Bactrim, Septra) and erythromycin-sulfisoxazole (Eryzole, Pediazole) some diabetes medications, such as glyburide (Diabeta, Glynase PresTabs)

Is metronidazole a bacteriostatic agent?

Metronidazole belongs to the nitroimidazole class of antibiotics and is active against protozoa in addition to anaerobic bacteria. It is bactericidal to anaerobic organisms through formation of free radicals that inhibit DNA synthesis and cause DNA degradation.

Which drug is bactericidal?

Bactericidal antibiotics that inhibit cell wall synthesis: the beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillin derivatives (penams), cephalosporins (cephems), monobactams, and carbapenems) and vancomycin. Also bactericidal are daptomycin, fluoroquinolones, metronidazole, nitrofurantoin, co-trimoxazole, telithromycin.

Which antibiotics are bactericidal and which are bacteriostatic?

The bacteriostatic agents included tigecycline, linezolid, macrolides, sulphonamides, tetracyclines and streptogramins. The bactericidal agents included β-lactam antibiotics, glycopeptide antibiotics, fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides.

Is cephalexin a sulfa drug?

No, Keflex is not a sulfa drug. It is a general antibiotic in the cephalosporin class. It is used for a wide variety of infections. People who have a Penicillin allergy may also be allergic to Keflex.

Is Zpack a sulfa drug?

Zithromax and Bactrim belong to different antibiotic drug classes. Zithromax is a macrolide antibiotic and Bactrim is a combination of a sulfonamide antibiotic (a “sulfa” drug) and a folic acid inhibitor.

Is Augmentin a sulfa drug?

Augmentin and Bactrim are different types of antibiotics. Augmentin is a combination penicillin-type antibiotic and a beta-lactamase inhibitor and Bactrim is a combination of an anti-bacterial sulfonamide (a “sulfa” drug) and a folic acid inhibitor.