Omnicef
- Generic Name: cefdinir
- Brand Name: Omnicef
Omnicef (Cefdinir) side effects drug center
Omnicef Side Effects Center
What Is Omnicef?
Omnicef (cefdinir) is a cephalosporin antibiotic used to treat many different types of infections caused by bacteria. The brand name Omnicef is discontinued in the U.S. Omnicef is available in generic form.
What Are Side Effects of Omnicef?
Common side effects of Omnicef include:
- diarrhea,
- nausea,
- vomiting,
- stomach pain,
- indigestion,
- headache,
- dizziness,
- diaper rash in an infant taking liquid cefdinir,
- itching,
- skin rash, or
- vaginal itching or
- discharge.
Tell your doctor if you experience serious side effects of Omnicef including watery or bloody diarrhea, chest pain, fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms, unusual bleeding, seizures (convulsions), pale or yellowed skin, dark colored urine, fever, confusion or weakness, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash; increased thirst, loss of appetite, swelling, weight gain, feeling short of breath, or urinating less than usual or not at all.
Dosage for Omnicef
The recommended dosage of cefdinir for infections in adults and adolescents ranges from 300 mg to 600 mg, taken either once or twice daily. Duration of treatment ranges from 5 to 10 days.
What Drugs, Substances, or Supplements Interact with Omnicef?
Cefdinir may interact with probenecid, or vitamin or mineral supplements that contain iron. Other drugs may interact with cefdinir. Tell your doctor all prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements you use.
Omnicef During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Cefdinir should be used only when prescribed during pregnancy. This drug does not pass into breast milk. Consult your doctor before breast-feeding.
Additional Information
Our Omnicef (cefdinir) Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.
Omnicef Consumer Information
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction (hives, difficult breathing, swelling in your face or throat) or a severe skin reaction (fever, sore throat, burning eyes, skin pain, red or purple skin rash with blistering and peeling).
Call your doctor at once if you have:
- severe stomach pain, diarrhea that is watery or bloody (even if it occurs months after your last dose);
- fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms;
- pale skin, easy bruising, unusual bleeding;
- seizure (convulsions);
- fever, weakness, confusion;
- dark colored urine, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or
- kidney problems--little or no urination, swelling in your feet or ankles, feeling tired or short of breath.
Common side effects may include:
- nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea;
- vaginal itching or discharge;
- headache; or
- rash (including diaper rash in an infant taking liquid cefdinir.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Read the entire detailed patient monograph for Omnicef (Cefdinir)
Omnicef Professional Information
SIDE EFFECTS
Adverse Events
Clinical Trials - OMNICEF Capsules (Adult and Adolescent Patients)
In clinical trials, 5093 adult and adolescent patients (3841 US and 1252 non-US) were treated with the recommended dose of cefdinir capsules (600 mg/day). Most adverse events were mild and self-limiting. No deaths or permanent disabilities were attributed to cefdinir. One hundred forty-seven of 5093 (3%) patients discontinued medication due to adverse events thought by the investigators to be possibly, probably, or definitely associated with cefdinir therapy. The discontinuations were primarily for gastrointestinal disturbances, usually diarrhea or nausea. Nineteen of 5093 (0.4%) patients were discontinued due to rash thought related to cefdinir administration.
In the US, the following adverse events were thought by investigators to be possibly, probably, or definitely related to cefdinir capsules in multiple-dose clinical trials (N = 3841 cefdinir-treated patients):
ADVERSE EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CEFDINIR CAPSULES US
TRIALS IN ADULT AND ADOLESCENT PATIENTS (N = 3841)a
| Incidence ≥ 1% | Diarrhea | 15% |
| Vaginal moniliasis | 4% of women | |
| Nausea | 3% | |
| Headache | 2% | |
| Abdominal pain | 1% | |
| Vaginitis | 1% of women | |
| Incidence < 1% but > 0.1% | Rash | 0.90% |
| Dyspepsia | 0.70% | |
| Flatulence | 0.70% | |
| Vomiting | 0.70% | |
| Abnormal stools | 0.30% | |
| Anorexia | 0.30% | |
| Constipation | 0.30% | |
| Dizziness | 0.30% | |
| Dry mouth | 0.30% | |
| Asthenia | 0.20% | |
| Insomnia | 0.20% | |
| Leukorrhea | 0.2% of women | |
| Moniliasis | 0.20% | |
| Pruritus | 0.20% | |
| Somnolence | 0.20% | |
| a 1733 males, 2108 females | ||
The following laboratory value changes of possible clinical significance, irrespective of relationship to therapy with cefdinir, were seen during clinical trials conducted in the US:
LABORATORY VALUE CHANGES OBSERVED WITH CEFDINIR
CAPSULES US TRIALS IN ADULT AND ADOLESCENT PATIENTS (N = 3841)
| Incidence ≥ 1% | ↑Urine leukocytes | 2% |
| ↑Urine protein | 2% | |
| ↑ Gamma-glutamyltransferasea | 1% | |
| ↓Lymphocytes, ↑Lymphocytes | 1%, 0.2% | |
| ↑Microhematuria | 1% | |
| Incidence < 1% but > 0.1% | ↑Glucosea | 0.90% |
| ↑Urine glucose | 0.90% | |
| ↑ White blood cells,↓White blood cells | 0.9%, 0.7% | |
| ↑ Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) | 0.70% | |
| ↑Eosinophils | 0.70% | |
| ↑Urine specific gravity,↓Urine specific gravitya | 0.6%, 0.2% | |
| ↓Bicarbonatea | 0.60% | |
| ↑Phosphorus,↓Phosphorusa | 0.6%, 0.3% | |
| ↑ Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) | 0.40% | |
| ↑ Alkaline phosphatase | 0.30% | |
| ↑ Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) | 0.30% | |
| ↓Hemoglobin | 0.30% | |
| ↑ Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), ↓PMNs | 0.3%, 0.2% | |
| ↑Bilirubin | 0.20% | |
| ↑Lactate dehydrogenasea | 0.20% | |
| ↑Platelets | 0.20% | |
| ↑Potassiuma | 0.20% | |
| ↑Urine pHa | 0.20% | |
| a N < 3841 for these parameters | ||
Clinical Trials - OMNICEF For Oral Suspension (Pediatric Patients)
In clinical trials, 2289 pediatric patients (1783 US and 506 non-US) were treated with the recommended dose of cefdinir suspension (14 mg/kg/day). Most adverse events were mild and self-limiting. No deaths or permanent disabilities were attributed to cefdinir. Forty of 2289 (2%) patients discontinued medication due to adverse events considered by the investigators to be possibly, probably, or definitely associated with cefdinir therapy. Discontinuations were primarily for gastrointestinal disturbances, usually diarrhea. Five of 2289 (0.2%) patients were discontinued due to rash thought related to cefdinir administration.
In the US, the following adverse events were thought by investigators to be possibly, probably, or definitely related to cefdinir suspension in multiple-dose clinical trials (N = 1783 cefdinirtreated patients):
ADVERSE EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CEFDINIR SUSPENSION US
TRIALS IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS (N = 1783)a
| Incidence ≥ 1% | Diarrhea | 8% |
| Rash | 3% | |
| Vomiting | 1% | |
| Incidence < 1% but > 0.1% | Cutaneous moniliasis | 0.90% |
| Abdominal pain | 0.80% | |
| Leukopeniab | 0.30% | |
| Vaginal moniliasis | 0.3% of girls | |
| Vaginitis | 0.3% of girls | |
| Abnormal stools | 0.20% | |
| Dyspepsia | 0.20% | |
| Hyperkinesia | 0.20% | |
| Increased ASTb | 0.20% | |
| Maculopapular rash | 0.20% | |
| Nausea | 0.20% | |
| a 977 males, 806 females b Laboratory changes were occasionally reported as adverse events. |
||
NOTE: In both cefdinir- and control-treated patients, rates of diarrhea and rash were higher in the youngest pediatric patients. The incidence of diarrhea in cefdinir-treated patients ≤ 2 years of age was 17% (95/557) compared with 4% (51/1226) in those > 2 years old. The incidence of rash (primarily diaper rash in the younger patients) was 8% (43/557) in patients ≤ 2 years of age compared with 1% (8/1226) in those > 2 years old.
The following laboratory value changes of possible clinical significance, irrespective of relationship to therapy with cefdinir, were seen during clinical trials conducted in the US:
LABORATORY VALUE CHANGES OF POSSIBLE CLINICAL
SIGNIFICANCE OBSERVED WITH CEFDINIR SUSPENSION US TRIALS IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS
(N = 1783)
| Incidence ≥ 1% | ↑Lymphocytes, ↓ Lymphocytes |
2%, 0.8% |
| ↑Alkaline phosphatase | 1% | |
| ↓Bicarbonatea | 1% | |
| ↑Eosinophils | 1% | |
| ↑Lactate dehydrogenase | 1% | |
| ↑Platelets | 1% | |
| ↑PMNs, ↓PMNs |
1%, 1% | |
| ↑Urine protein | 1% | |
| Incidence < 1% but > 0.1% | ↑Phosphorus, ↓Phosphorus |
0.9%, 0.4% |
| ↑Urine pH | 0.80% | |
| ↓White blood cells, ↑White blood cells |
0.7%, 0.3% | |
| ↓Calciuma | 0.50% | |
| ↓Hemoglobin | 0.50% | |
| ↑Urine leukocytes | 0.50% | |
| ↑Monocytes | 0.40% | |
| ↑AST | 0.30% | |
| ↑Potassiuma | 0.30% | |
| ↑Urine specific gravity, ↓Urine specific gravity |
0.3%, 0.1% | |
| ↓Hematocrita | 0.20% | |
| a N=1387 for these parameters | ||
Postmarketing Experience
The following adverse experiences and altered laboratory tests, regardless of their relationship to cefdinir, have been reported during extensive postmarketing experience, beginning with approval in Japan in 1991: shock, anaphylaxis with rare cases of fatality, facial and laryngeal edema, feeling of suffocation, serum sickness-like reactions, conjunctivitis, stomatitis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, exfoliative dermatitis, erythema multiforme, erythema nodosum, acute hepatitis, cholestasis, fulminant hepatitis, hepatic failure, jaundice, increased amylase, acute enterocolitis, bloody diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, melena, pseudomembranous colitis, pancytopenia, granulocytopenia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, hemolytic anemia, acute respiratory failure, asthmatic attack, drug-induced pneumonia, eosinophilic pneumonia, idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, fever, acute renal failure, nephropathy, bleeding tendency, coagulation disorder, disseminated intravascular coagulation, upper GI bleed, peptic ulcer, ileus, loss of consciousness, allergic vasculitis, possible cefdinir-diclofenac interaction, cardiac failure, chest pain, myocardial infarction, hypertension, involuntary movements, and rhabdomyolysis.
Cephalosporin Class Adverse Events
The following adverse events and altered laboratory tests have been reported for cephalosporinclass antibiotics in general:
Allergic reactions, anaphylaxis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiforme, toxic epidermal necrolysis, renal dysfunction, toxic nephropathy, hepatic dysfunction including cholestasis, aplastic anemia, hemolytic anemia, hemorrhage, false-positive test for urinary glucose, neutropenia, pancytopenia, and agranulocytosis. Pseudomembranous colitis symptoms may begin during or after antibiotic treatment (see WARNINGS).
Several cephalosporins have been implicated in triggering seizures, particularly in patients with renal impairment when the dosage was not reduced (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION and OVERDOSAGE). If seizures associated with drug therapy occur, the drug should be discontinued. Anticonvulsant therapy can be given if clinically indicated.
Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Omnicef (Cefdinir)
&Copy; Omnicef Patient Information is supplied by Cerner Multum, Inc. and Omnicef Consumer information is supplied by First Databank, Inc., used under license and subject to their respective copyrights.