Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (914 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A broad-spectrum semisynthetic antibiotic similar to ampicillin except that its resistance to gastric acid permits higher serum levels with oral administration.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Amoxycillin; Amoxicilline; Amoxil; Amoxicillin, (R*)-Isomer; Amoxicillin Sodium; Amoxicillin Monosodium Salt; Amoxicillin Monopotassium Salt; Clamoxyl.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Ampicillin
- Narrower topics
- Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination
Related concepts
- Ampicillin
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 13,697 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Amoxicillin” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 2,448 of them (17.9%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 4,315 records.
Reviews account for 1,082 records (7.9%) and meta-analyses for 214. Randomized controlled trials number 2,519 (18.4%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up a comparatively large share of this literature, which means many treatment questions have been tested directly.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 4,315 |
| 2000-2009 | 3,423 |
| 2010-2019 | 3,511 |
| 2020 onward | 2,448 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 1,082 | 7.9% |
| Meta-analyses | 214 | 1.6% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 2,519 | 18.4% |
Method: PubMed query "Amoxicillin"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
Amoxicillin for 3 or 5 Days for Chest-Indrawing Pneumonia in Malawian Children [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundEvidence regarding the appropriate duration of treatment with antibiotic agents in children with pneumonia in low-resource settings in Africa is lacking.
- Closing excerpt
- ).
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (246 words)
BackgroundEvidence regarding the appropriate duration of treatment with antibiotic agents in children with pneumonia in low-resource settings in Africa is lacking.MethodsWe conducted a double-blind, randomized, controlled, noninferiority trial in Lilongwe, Malawi, to determine whether treatment with amoxicillin for 3 days is less effective than treatment for 5 days in children with chest-indrawing pneumonia (cough lasting ResultsFrom March 29, 2016, to April 1, 2019, a total of 3000 children underwent randomization: 1497 children were assigned to the 3-day group, and 1503 to the 5-day group. Among children with day 6 data available, treatment failure had occurred in 5.9% in the 3-day group (85 of 1442 children) and in 5.2% (75 of 1456) in the 5-day group (adjusted difference, 0.7 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.9 to 2.4) - a result that satisfied the criterion for noninferiority of the 3-day regimen to the 5-day regimen. Among children with day 14 data available, 176 of 1411 children (12.5%) in the 3-day group and 154 of 1429 (10.8%) in the 5-day group had had treatment failure by day 6 or relapse by day 14 (between-group difference, 1.7 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.7 to 4.1). The percentage of children with serious adverse events was similar in the two groups (9.8% in the 3-day group and 8.8% in the 5-day group).ConclusionsIn HIV-uninfected Malawian children, treatment with amoxicillin for chest-indrawing pneumonia for 3 days was noninferior to treatment for 5 days. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02678195.).
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 32609979 · DOI · PMC7233470
Effect of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid on clinical scores, intestinal microbiome, and amoxicillin-resistant Escherichia coli in dogs with uncomplicated acute diarrhea [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundDespite limited evidence of efficacy, antibiotic treatment is still frequently prescribed in dogs with uncomplicated acute diarrhea (AD).
- Closing excerpt
- These findings support international guideline recommendations that dogs with diarrhea should not be treated with antimicrobials unless there are signs of sepsis.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (293 words)
BackgroundDespite limited evidence of efficacy, antibiotic treatment is still frequently prescribed in dogs with uncomplicated acute diarrhea (AD).ObjectiveTo assess whether amoxicillin-clavulanic acid has a clinical benefit, an effect on the fecal microbiome, and the proportion of amoxicillin-resistant Escherichia coli in dogs with AD.AnimalsSixteen dogs with AD of MethodsProspective, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study. Clinical scores were compared between client-owned dogs randomly assigned to an antibiotic (AG) or a placebo (PG) group. The intestinal microbiome was analyzed using quantitative PCR assays. Amoxicillin-resistant fecal E. coli were assessed semiquantitatively with microbiological methods.ResultsThere was no difference in clinical recovery between treated dogs or controls (CADS index day 10: AG group median: 2 (range: 1-3; CI [1.4; 2.6]); PG group median: 1.6 (range: 1-3; CI [1.1; 2.4]); P > .99). All dogs gained normal clinical scores (CADS index ≤3) after 1 to 6 days (median 2 days) after presentation. There was no significant difference in the fecal dysbiosis index (during treatment: AG mean -2.6 (SD 3.0; CI [-5.1; 0.0]); PG mean -0.8 (SD 4.0; CI [-4.2; 2.5]; P > .99) or its bacterial taxa. The proportion of resistant fecal E. coli increased (to median: 100%; range: 35%-100%) during treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and was still increased (median: 10%; range 2%-67%) 3 weeks after treatment, both of which were significantly higher proportions than in the placebo group for both time points (during treatment AG median 100% versus PG median 0.2% (P Conclusions and clinical importanceOur study suggests that treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid confers no clinical benefit to dogs with AD, but predisposes the development of amoxicillin-resistant E. coli, which persist for as long as 3 weeks after treatment. These findings support international guideline recommendations that dogs with diarrhea should not be treated with antimicrobials unless there are signs of sepsis.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 32324947 · DOI · PMC7255678
Efficacy of β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combination is linked to WhiB4-mediated changes in redox physiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) expresses a broad-spectrum β-lactamase (BlaC) that mediates resistance to one of the highly effective antibacterials, β-lactams.
- Closing excerpt
- Our findings suggest that AG can be exploited to diminish drug-resistance in Mtb through redox-based interventions.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (149 words)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) expresses a broad-spectrum β-lactamase (BlaC) that mediates resistance to one of the highly effective antibacterials, β-lactams. Nonetheless, β-lactams showed mycobactericidal activity in combination with β-lactamase inhibitor, clavulanate (Clav). However, the mechanistic aspects of how Mtb responds to β-lactams such as Amoxicillin in combination with Clav (referred as Augmentin [AG]) are not clear. Here, we identified cytoplasmic redox potential and intracellular redox sensor, WhiB4, as key determinants of mycobacterial resistance against AG. Using computer-based, biochemical, redox-biosensor, and genetic strategies, we uncovered a functional linkage between specific determinants of β-lactam resistance (e.g. β-lactamase) and redox potential in Mtb. We also describe the role of WhiB4 in coordinating the activity of β-lactamase in a redox-dependent manner to tolerate AG. Disruption of WhiB4 enhances AG tolerance, whereas overexpression potentiates AG activity against drug-resistant Mtb. Our findings suggest that AG can be exploited to diminish drug-resistance in Mtb through redox-based interventions.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 28548640 · DOI · PMC5473688
Hepatotoxicity and Antimicrobial Resistance to Amoxicillin and Amoxicillin/Clavulanic Acid: Data Analysis from EudraVigilance [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Amoxicillin is widely prescribed, either as a monotherapy or in combination with clavulanic acid, with its therapeutic indications including a broad range of infections.
- Closing excerpt
- The amoxicillin/clavulanic acid combination has previously been associated with a higher risk of hepatotoxicity and antibiotic resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid; however, this is the first time that a post-marketing surveillance study has shown that antimicrobial resistance is more likely to occur with the combination in comparison to amoxicillin alone.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (226 words)
Amoxicillin is widely prescribed, either as a monotherapy or in combination with clavulanic acid, with its therapeutic indications including a broad range of infections. Its combination with clavulanic acid maintains its known activity against strains producing β-lactamase. There are limited studies on adverse reactions and antibiotic resistance, with researchers relying primarily on databanks that report spontaneous events caused by amoxicillin or the combination of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Antimicrobial resistance is an overlooked adverse event, and pharmacovigilance databases could serve as a tool in tracking resistance. On this basis, a study to define the safety profile of amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and to increase the knowledge necessary to support the battle against antimicrobial resistance was undertaken through the analysis of pharmacovigilance databases. Suspected adverse reactions to amoxicillin and to the combination of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid in the data system EudraVigilance (2020-2024) were analyzed. The most frequent alerts concerned "Skin and subcutaneous disorders" for both drugs. Disproportionate analysis of cases concerning "Hepatobiliary disorders" or "Drug inefficiency" indicates a significant increase in these alerts with the amoxicillin/clavulanic acid combination compared to amoxicillin. The amoxicillin/clavulanic acid combination has previously been associated with a higher risk of hepatotoxicity and antibiotic resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid; however, this is the first time that a post-marketing surveillance study has shown that antimicrobial resistance is more likely to occur with the combination in comparison to amoxicillin alone.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41011717 · DOI · PMC12472657
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Drug-induced liver injury [5]
- Research article Global prevalence of antibiotic resistance in paediatric urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli and association with routine use of antibiotics in primary care: systematic review and meta-analysis [6]
- Research article Oral amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid: properties, indications and usage [7]
- Research article A meta-analysis of short versus long therapy with a proton pump inhibitor, clarithromycin and either metronidazole or amoxycillin for treating Helicobacter pylori infection [8]
- Research article Review article: Helicobacter pylori "rescue" regimen when proton pump inhibitor-based triple therapies fail [9]
- Research article Therapy for Lyme arthritis: strategies for the treatment of antibiotic-refractory arthritis [10]
References
- Ginsburg AS, Mvalo T, Nkwopara E, McCollum ED, Phiri M, Schmicker R, et al.. Amoxicillin for 3 or 5 Days for Chest-Indrawing Pneumonia in Malawian Children. . 2020. PMID 32609979 · DOI · PMC7233470
- Werner M, Suchodolski JS, Straubinger RK, Wolf G, Steiner JM, Lidbury JA, et al.. Effect of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid on clinical scores, intestinal microbiome, and amoxicillin-resistant Escherichia coli in dogs with uncomplicated acute diarrhea. . 2020. PMID 32324947 · DOI · PMC7255678
- Mishra S, Shukla P, Bhaskar A, Anand K, Baloni P, Jha RK, et al.. Efficacy of β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combination is linked to WhiB4-mediated changes in redox physiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. . 2017. PMID 28548640 · DOI · PMC5473688
- Ammendolia I, Mannucci C, Esposito E, Calapai G, Currò M, Midiri P, et al.. Hepatotoxicity and Antimicrobial Resistance to Amoxicillin and Amoxicillin/Clavulanic Acid: Data Analysis from EudraVigilance. . 2025. PMID 41011717 · DOI · PMC12472657
- Leise MD, Poterucha JJ, Talwalkar JA. Drug-induced liver injury. Mayo Clin Proc. 2014. PMID 24388027 · DOI
- Bryce A, Hay AD, Lane IF, Thornton HV, Wootton M, Costelloe C. Global prevalence of antibiotic resistance in paediatric urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli and association with routine use of antibiotics in primary care: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2016. PMID 26980184 · DOI · PMC4793155
- Huttner A, Bielicki J, Clements MN, Frimodt-Møller N, Muller AE, Paccaud JP, et al.. Oral amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid: properties, indications and usage. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2020. PMID 31811919 · DOI
- Calvet X, Calvet X, García N, López T, Gisbert JP, Gené E, et al.. A meta-analysis of short versus long therapy with a proton pump inhibitor, clarithromycin and either metronidazole or amoxycillin for treating Helicobacter pylori infection. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2000. PMID 10792124 · DOI
- Gisbert JP, Pajares JM. Review article: Helicobacter pylori "rescue" regimen when proton pump inhibitor-based triple therapies fail. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2002. PMID 12030945 · DOI
- Steere AC, Angelis SM. Therapy for Lyme arthritis: strategies for the treatment of antibiotic-refractory arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2006. PMID 17009226 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.