Área Académica de Medicina, Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Circuito Ex Hacienda, Pachuca de Soto Hidalgo, México.
Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2019 Jan;23(1):397-401. doi: 10.26355/eurrev_201901_16788.
Metronidazole is an antibiotic widely used in different medical conditions such as trichomoniasis, amoebiasis, and giardiasis among others. Its use has been associated with toxicity; however, it is not well characterized. In this review, we discuss the different therapeutic uses of metronidazole and its side effects in order to aid future investigation in this field.
Relevant information, original research articles, clinical trials, and reviews were collected from PubMed to know the state of the art of the different therapeutic uses of metronidazole and the reported side effects.
Metronidazole was used by the first time in 1959, to treat an infection caused by Trichomonas vaginalis; subsequently, new therapeutic properties were discovered. Nowadays, Metronidazole is used to treat infections caused by Bacteroides, Fusobacteria and Clostridia, rosacea, oral and dental infections, bone and joint infections, gynecologic infections, endocarditis, septicemia, and respiratory tract infections. It also can be used to treat Crohn´s disease or even like prophylaxis, before surgical procedures. Metronidazole is well tolerated with mild to moderate side effects such as nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Nevertheless, serious neurotoxicity, optic neuropathy, peripheral neuropathy, and encephalopathy have been reported in rare cases. Their genotoxic effects observed in animal models are controversial in humans.
The therapeutic use of metronidazole had increased worldwide. Even though it is widely used, metronidazole has been associated with neurotoxicity and genotoxicity; however, its side effects are not well established. Conversely, its veterinary use is restricted in some countries because of its tumor association. Subsequently, further studies are needed to discover the secure use of metronidazole and describe new usages for this drug.
甲硝唑是一种广泛应用于不同医学领域的抗生素，如滴虫病、阿米巴病、贾第鞭毛虫病等。其使用与毒性有关，但尚未得到充分描述。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了甲硝唑的不同治疗用途及其副作用，以便为该领域的未来研究提供帮助。
从 PubMed 中收集了相关信息、原始研究文章、临床试验和综述，以了解甲硝唑不同治疗用途的最新技术状态和报告的副作用。
甲硝唑于 1959 年首次用于治疗阴道毛滴虫引起的感染，随后发现了新的治疗特性。如今，甲硝唑用于治疗由拟杆菌、梭菌和真杆菌、酒渣鼻、口腔和牙齿感染、骨和关节感染、妇科感染、心内膜炎、败血症和呼吸道感染引起的感染。它也可用于治疗克罗恩病，甚至在手术前用作预防措施。甲硝唑耐受性良好，副作用轻微至中度，如恶心、腹痛和腹泻。然而，在罕见情况下，已报告严重的神经毒性、视神经病变、周围神经病和脑病。在动物模型中观察到的遗传毒性效应在人类中存在争议。
甲硝唑的治疗用途在全球范围内有所增加。尽管甲硝唑被广泛使用，但与神经毒性和遗传毒性有关；然而，其副作用尚未得到充分证实。相反，由于其与肿瘤的关联，其在兽医中的使用在一些国家受到限制。因此，需要进一步研究以发现安全使用甲硝唑的方法，并描述该药物的新用途。
