From the Guidelines
Yes, abdominal pain is a known side effect of Augmentin (amoxicillin-clavulanate). If you're experiencing abdominal pain while taking Augmentin, you should contact your healthcare provider, especially if the pain is severe or persistent.
Causes of Abdominal Pain
- Augmentin commonly causes gastrointestinal side effects including stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
- These effects occur because antibiotics like Augmentin can disrupt the normal balance of bacteria in your digestive system.
Management of Side Effects
- Taking Augmentin with food may help reduce stomach discomfort.
- Drinking plenty of water and avoiding alcohol while on this medication is also recommended.
- If you develop severe abdominal pain, especially if accompanied by severe diarrhea, fever, or blood in stool, seek medical attention immediately as this could indicate a more serious condition like Clostridioides difficile infection, which can occur with antibiotic use.
Importance of Medical Consultation
- Never stop taking your prescribed antibiotic without consulting your doctor first, even if you experience side effects. Note that the provided evidence 1 does not directly address the question of Augmentin causing abdominal pain, but it discusses various aspects of gastrointestinal infections and the use of antibiotics, which can indirectly relate to the side effects of such medications. However, based on general medical knowledge and the example provided, it's clear that antibiotics like Augmentin can cause gastrointestinal side effects, including abdominal pain.
From the FDA Drug Label
The most frequently reported adverse reactions were diarrhea/loose stools (9%), nausea (3%), skin rashes and urticaria (3%), vomiting (1%) and vaginitis (1%). Less than 3% of patients discontinued therapy because of drug-related adverse reactions. The overall incidence of adverse reactions, and in particular diarrhea, increased with the higher recommended dose Other less frequently reported adverse reactions (<1%) include: Abdominal discomfort, flatulence, and headache. Gastrointestinal: Indigestion, gastritis, stomatitis, glossitis, black “hairy” tongue, mucocutaneous candidiasis, enterocolitis, and hemorrhagic/pseudomembranous colitis
Abdominal pain is not explicitly listed as an adverse reaction, but abdominal discomfort is reported in less than 1% of patients. 2
From the Research
Side Effects of Augmentin
- Abdominal pain is a potential side effect of various medications, but the provided studies do not directly link Augmentin (amoxicillin-clavulanate) as a primary cause of abdominal pain.
- A study from 2014 3 investigated the use of amoxicillin/clavulanate for treating suspected acute appendicitis and found that abdominal pain was assessed and managed, but it did not specifically attribute the pain to the medication.
- Another study from 2022 4 reported a case of severe cholestatic hepatitis from amoxicillin/clavulanate, which included symptoms like nausea, but did not specifically mention abdominal pain as a side effect.
- Other studies 5, 6, 7 discussed abdominal pain in the context of different conditions and medications, such as abdominal wall pain, lisinopril-induced small bowel angioedema, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-induced visceral angio-oedema, but did not directly relate these to Augmentin.
Medication-Induced Abdominal Pain
- The studies suggest that abdominal pain can be caused by various factors, including medication side effects, but the specific link to Augmentin is not clearly established in the provided evidence.
- Medications like lisinopril and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are associated with abdominal pain due to conditions like angioedema, as reported in studies from 2022 6 and 2012 7.
- Abdominal wall pain, discussed in a 2019 study 5, is another condition that can cause chronic abdominal pain, but its relation to Augmentin or its ingredients is not mentioned.