Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Rifaximin and Metronidazole Fixed Dose Combination: New Treatment Option in the Management of Diarrhea

Arif A. Faruqui

Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases · pp. 29–34 · Published 28 Aug 2024

10.9734/ajrid/2024/v15i9372

Abstract

Background: Endemic infectious diarrhea is a widespread problem around the world, caused by a combination of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. While commonly used fluoroquinolone antibiotics are effective for specific types of acute diarrhea, they carry potential side effects. Aim: To assess the effectiveness and tolerability of a fixed-dose combination of rifaximin and metronidazole as an alternative treatment approach for the management of acute diarrhea. Study Design: A multicentre, open-label, non-comparative and non-randomized trial was conducted in 370 patients suffering from acute diarrhea due to various factors. Methodology: Patients were given a tablet containing fixed-dose combination of 200 mg of rifaximin and 400 mg of metronidazole twice daily for 5 days. The primary outcomes evaluated were changes in the number of loose/watery stools, the presence of fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and gas/flatulence from baseline to day 5. A global assessment using a 3-point scale (Excellent/Good/Poor) was done by the investigators for efficacy and tolerability evaluation. Adverse drug reactions were monitored throughout the study period. Results: After 5-day therapy, the average number of watery stools per day decreased significantly from 7.853 ± 3.773 to 0.766 ± 0.949 (P < .001). None of the patients experienced fever and vomiting, while few patients experienced nausea (0.31%), abdominal pain (0.31%), and gas/flatulence (0.93%) at the end of the study. According to the evaluation by the investigators, all patients reported good to excellent efficacy and tolerability. Conclusions: The combination therapy of rifaximin and metronidazole is clinically effective and safe to treat acute diarrhea caused by different factors and can serve as a new treatment option for managing acute diarrhea.

Acute diarrhea fixed dose combination metronidazole mixed gastrointestinal infection rifaximin

References (13)

  1. 1 Metronidazole Is Still the Drug of Choice for Treatment of Anaerobic Infections [DOI]
  2. 2 Diarrhea During COVID-19 Infection: Pathogenesis, Epidemiology, Prevention, and Management [DOI]
  3. 3 Chronic Diarrhea: Diagnosis and Management [DOI]
  4. 4 Long-term management of hepatic encephalopathy with lactulose and/or rifaximin: a review of the evidence [DOI]
  5. 5 Rifaximin—a novel antimicrobial for enteric infections [DOI]
  6. 6 Efficacy of rifaximin in treating with small intestine bacterial overgrowth: a systematic review and meta-analysis [DOI]
  7. 7 Diarrheagenic Pathogens in Polymicrobial Infections [DOI]
  8. 8 A systematic review of the use of rifaximin for Clostridium difficile infections [DOI]
  9. 9 Short-course therapy for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: understanding the mechanism, impact on gut microbiota, and safety and tolerability of rifaximin [DOI]
  10. 10 Review article: rifaximin, a minimally absorbed oral antibacterial, for the treatment of travellers’ diarrhoea [DOI]
  11. 11 A meta-analysis of the use of rifaximin to prevent travellers’ diarrhoea [DOI]
  12. 12 Acute diarrhea: evidence‐based management [DOI]
  13. 13 Evaluation of Efficacy and Tolerability of Fixed Dose Combination of Rifaximin and Metronidazole in The Management of Acute Diarrhea [DOI]

Cited by 0

No indexed citations yet.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

69

Page views

0

PDF downloads

27

Outbound clicks

0

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.