The antibiotic amoxicillin, belonging to the penicillin family and used against various infectious diseases in children, from scarlet fever to type A streptococcus infection, has been lacking throughout Italy for a few weeks. currently lacking, published on the website of the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa).
Amoxicillin is not available for various types and manufacturing companies. For some formats, the end date of the shortage is indicated by the end of May but for other types it will be necessary to wait even beyond the summer for a return to full availability.
As for the reasons for the shortage, Aifa indicates several: the high demand, production problems, the temporary cessation of marketing or discontinuous supplies. However, medicines equivalent to this antibiotic are available: for alternative treatments, Aifa recommends contacting a specialist or general practitioner.
THE PEDIATRICIANS: “There has been a shortage of amoxicillin, the antibiotic of first choice for common bacterial infections that affect children, for many months now and the shortage has widened to include amoxicillin + clavulanic acid. The problem has recently worsened and also affects equivalent medicines. In the last two weeks we have been overwhelmed by phone calls from parents looking for replacements for the prescribed antibiotics. And the same pharmacists have dispensed medicines other than those indicated by the doctor”. This was explained to ANSA by Susanna Esposito, full professor of Pediatrics at the University of Parma and coordinator of the Infectious Diseases Technical Table of the Italian Society of Pediatrics (Sip). Amoxicillin, with or without association with clavulanic acid, is the first choice solution for respiratory pathologies such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, otitis and pneumonia. “It has seen – he explains – a large consumption due to the circulation of streptococcal infections and the numerous cases of scarlet fever that we have seen in recent months. There are alternative antibiotics, such as cephalosporins, but they are broader spectrum and have a negative impact on the increased antibiotic resistance”. The shortage “seemed to be transitory but has been there for months now and is not only linked to greater use, given that the critical winter period should have ended”. The issue is complex and can be caused by various reasons, such as insufficient production, increased demand or inadequate distribution and, to resolve it, a table has been opened at the Ministry of Health. “It remains essential to solve the problem as soon as possible to be sure that it will return to the market soon and in the meantime we need to provide precise indications to doctors and pharmacists to guarantee the patient the antibiotic he needs, but with the narrowest possible spectrum. The situation is clearly worsening “. In the summer of 2022 there was the problem of the shortage of Nurofen, replaced with ibuprofen-based galenic preparations, and before that the shortage of the pediatric anticonvulsant diazepam. In the current situation, concludes Esposito, “the suggestion is to resort to galenic preparations of amoxicillin and to dispense only the necessary doses, avoiding supplying broad spectrum drugs”.
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