Drug General Information (ID: DDIDZ71S2Q)
  Drug Name Chloramphenicol Drug Info Oxacillin Drug Info
  Drug Type Small molecule Small molecule
  Therapeutic Class Antibiotics Antibiotics
  Structure

 Mechanism of Chloramphenicol-Oxacillin Interaction (Severity Level: Moderate)
     Attenuated pharmacological effects (Unspecific) Click to Show/Hide Mechanism Graph
      Drug Name Chloramphenicol Oxacillin
      Mechanism Bacteriostatic agent
Change actively growing bacteria into static ones 
Bactericidal agent
Bactericidal activity requires bacterial growth 
      Key Mechanism Factor 1
Factor Name Pharmacodynamics
Factor Description Reduced pharmacological effects leading to insufficient efficacy and/or treatment failure.
      Mechanism Description
  • Attenuated pharmacological effects of  Chloramphenicol when combined with Oxacillin 

Recommended Action
      Management Until more information is available, this combination should probably be reserved for conditions where it has been found to be efficacious and avoided in situations where bactericidal activity is necessary, such as certain types of bacterial meningitis or staphylococcal endocarditis. If the combination is necessary, some experts recommend administering the penicillin several hours before the chloramphenicol. Patients should be closely monitored for altered antimicrobial efficacy.

References
1 Shalit I, Marks MI "Chloramphenicol in the 1980s." Drugs 28 (1984): 281-91
2 Jawetz E "The use of combinations of antimicrobial drugs." Annu Rev Pharmacol 8 (1968): 151
3 Wallace JF, Smith RH, Garcia M, Petersdorf RG "Studies on the pathogenesis of meningitis. VI: antagonism between penicillin and chloramphenicol in experimental pneumococcal meningitis." J Lab Clin Med 70 (1967): 408-18