FURADANTIN- nitrofurantoin suspension
Shionogi Pharma, Inc.
DESCRIPTION
Furadantin (nitrofurantoin), a synthetic chemical, is a stable, yellow, crystalline compound. Furadantin is an antibacterial agent for specific urinary tract infections. Furadantin is available in 25mg/5mL liquid suspension for oral administration.
Chemical Structure
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Inactive Ingredients
Furadantin Oral Suspension contains carboxymethylcellulose sodium, citric acid, flavors, glycerin, magnesium aluminum silicate, methylparaben, propylparaben, purified water, saccharin, sodium citrate, and sorbitol.
CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY
Orally administered Furadantin is readily absorbed and rapidly excreted in urine. Blood concentrations at therapeutic dosage are usually low. It is highly soluble in urine, to which it may impart a brown color.
Following a dose regimen of 100 mg q.i.d. for 7 days, average urinary drug recoveries (0-24 hours) on day 1 and day 7 were 42.7% and 43.6%.
Unlike many drugs, the presence of food or agents delaying gastric emptying can increase the bioavailability of Furadantin , presumably by allowing better dissolution in gastric juices.
Microbiology
Nitrofurantoin is bactericidal in urine at therapeutic doses. The mechanism of the antimicrobial action of nitrofurantoin is unusual among antibacterials. Nitrofurantoin is reduced by bacterial flavoproteins to reactive intermediates which inactivate or alter bacterial ribosomal proteins and other macromolecules. As a result of such inactivations, the vital biochemical processes of protein synthesis, aerobic energy metabolism, DNA synthesis, RNA synthesis, and cell wall synthesis are inhibited. The broad-based nature of this mode of action may explain the lack of acquired bacterial resistance to nitrofurantoin, as the necessary multiple and simultaneous mutations of the target macromolecules would likely be lethal to the bacteria. Development of resistance to nitrofurantoin has not been a significant problem since its introduction in 1953. Cross-resistance with antibiotics and sulfonamides has not been observed, and transferable resistance is, at most, a very rare phenomenon.
