Tedizolid

Tedizolid is a prescription medication used to treat infections of the skin.

Tedizolid belongs to a group of drugs called antibacterials. These work by stopping the growth of bacteria.

Tedizolid comes in tablet form (by mouth) and is taken once a day, with or without food.

This medication is also available in an injectable form to be given directly into a vein (IV) by a healthcare professional.

Common side effects of nausea, headache, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Tedizolid can also cause dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how tedizolid affects you.

Tedizolid is a prescription medication used to treat infections of the skin.

Tedizolid is used to treat acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections caused by certain susceptible bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible strains), various Streptococcus species, and Enterococcus faecalis.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The recommended dose of tedizolid (Sivextro) is 200 mg administered once daily for six (6) days.

Serious side effects have been reported with tedizolid including the following:

• Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Some antibiotics can kill the “good” bacteria in the colon leading to a growth of C. difficile bacteria. This “bad” bacterium can cause diarrhea and other digestive problems, and these problems may even occur 2 months after the last dose. Extra caution for this side effect is advised in the elderly population. Tell your healthcare provider if you experience any or all of the following symptoms:
  • watery diarrhea (at least three bowel movements per day for two or more days)
  • loss of appetite
  • abdominal pain or tenderness
  • nausea

(Diarrhea is a common problem caused by antibiotics, and it usually ends when the antibacterial is discontinued. Sometimes after starting treatment with antibiotics, patients can develop watery and bloody stools (with or without stomach cramps and fever) even as late as 2 or more months after having taken their last dose of the antibacterial. If diarrhea is severe or lasts more than 2 or 3 days, contact your doctor, as this may be a sign of an infection of the bowels.)

• Reduced blood counts. A decrease in white blood cells, platelets, and red blood cells may occur. Your doctor will need to conduct lab to monitor for this. Report shortness of breath, significant fatigue, bleeding, fever, or other signs of infection.

Tedizolid can cause dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how tedizolid affects you.

Do not take tedizolid if you are allergic to tedizolid or to any of its ingredients.

Serious side effects have been reported with Tedizolid. See the “Tedizolid Precautions” section.

Common side effects of tedizolid include the following:

• nausea
• headache
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• dizziness

This is not a complete list of tedizolid side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Tedizolid has the potential to interact with the following medications, although tedizolid has not been studied in patients on these medications.

• selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as escitalopram (Lexapro), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa), vilazodone (Viibryd), paroxetine (Paxil), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, Symbyax), and fluvoxamine (Luvox)
• tricyclic antidepressants such as trimipramine (Surmontil), amitriptyline (Elavil), nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl), protriptyline (Vivactil), and clomipramine (Anafranil)
• medications used to treat migraines (selective serotonin receptor agonists) such as almotriptan (Axert), eletriptan (Relpax), frovatriptan (Frova), naratriptan (Amerge), rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex) and zolmitriptan (Zomig)
• meperidine (Demerol)
• buspirone
• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors such as
  • isocarboxazid (Marplan)
  • phenelzine (Nardil)
  • tranylcypromine (Parnate)
  • selegiline (Emsam, Eldepryl, Zelapar)
  • rasagiline (Azilect)

This is not a complete list of tedizolid drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Tedizolid falls into category C.  In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the unborn child.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

It is not known if tedizolid crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using tedizolid.

Tedizolid is only used to treat bacterial infections. Tedizolid does not treat viral infections (e.g., the common cold).  

It is common to feel better early in the course of therapy with tedizolid. Even though you may feel better, you should take tedizolid exactly as directed.

• If you skip doses or do not complete the full course of therapy, tedizolid may not work properly. If you do not complete the full course of therapy, this may increase the likelihood that bacteria will develop resistance and will not be treatable by tedizolid in the future.