Amoxicillin Chewable and Leucovorin Calcium

• Generic Name: amoxicillin
• Dosage Forms: tablet, chewable
• Other Brand Names: Amoxil, Moxatag, Trimox

Amoxicillin is a penicillin antibiotic that fights bacteria.

Amoxicillin is used to treat many different types of infection caused by bacteria, such as tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, and infections of the ear, nose, throat, skin, or urinary tract.

Amoxicillin is also sometimes used together with another antibiotic called clarithromycin (Biaxin) to treat stomach ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori infection. This combination is sometimes used with a stomach acid reducer called lansoprazole (Prevacid).

Do not use this medication if you are allergic to amoxicillin or to any other penicillin antibiotic, such as ampicillin (Omnipen, Principen), dicloxacillin (Dycill, Dynapen), oxacillin (Bactocill), penicillin (Beepen-VK, Ledercillin VK, Pen-V, Pen-Vee K, Pfizerpen, V-Cillin K, Veetids), and others.

Before using amoxicillin, tell your doctor if you are allergic to cephalosporins such as Omnicef, Cefzil, Ceftin, Keflex, and others. Also tell your doctor if you have asthma, liver or kidney disease, a bleeding or blood clotting disorder, mononucleosis (also called "mono"), or any type of allergy.

Amoxicillin can make birth control pills less effective. Ask your doctor about using a non-hormone method of birth control (such as a condom, diaphragm, spermicide) to prevent pregnancy while taking this medicine. Take this medication for the full prescribed length of time. Your symptoms may improve before the infection is completely cleared. Amoxicillin will not treat a viral infection such as the common cold or flu. Do not share this medication with another person, even if they have the same symptoms you have.

Antibiotic medicines can cause diarrhea. This may happen while you are taking amoxicillin, or within a few months after you stop taking it. This may be a sign of a new infection. If you have diarrhea that is watery or bloody, stop taking this medicine and call your doctor. Do not use anti-diarrhea medicine unless your doctor tells you to.

• Generic Name: leucovorin
• Dosage Forms: n.a.
• Other Brand Names: Wellcovorin

Antidote for unintentional overdosage of methotrexate (e.g., resulting from impaired elimination) and other folic acid antagonists (e.g., pyrimethamine, trimethoprim).

IV rescue therapy after high-dose methotrexate regimen (to control duration of exposure of sensitive cells to methotrexate) in the treatment of osteosarcoma (designated an orphan drug by FDA for this use).

Prevention of hematologic toxicity associated with pyrimethamine, trimethoprim, or trimetrexate therapy.

IV treatment of folate deficient megaloblastic anemias (e.g., serum folate concentration <0.002 mcg/mL) of infancy, pregnancy, sprue, and nutritional deficiencies when oral folic acid therapy is not feasible. No advantage over folic acid injection since ability to convert folic acid to tetrahydrofolic acid (THF) is not impaired in these anemias.

Effective in the treatment of megaloblastic anemia resulting from congenital dihydrofolate reductase deficiency.

Not effective in the treatment of pernicious anemia and other megaloblastic anemias secondary to lack of vitamin B12; avoid such use. (See Contraindications under Cautions.)

Adjunct to fluorouracil to prolong survival in the palliative treatment of advanced colorectal cancer (designated an orphan drug by FDA for this use).

First-line therapy for management of advanced colorectal cancer in a combination regimen consisting of fluorouracil, leucovorin, and either irinotecan or oxaliplatin.