{
  "abstract": "Background and Objectives: Among patients presenting to hospital with skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI), up to 50% have already failed oral antibiotic treatment and 90% receive intravenous (IV) antibiotics.\n\nProbenecid prolongs serum concentrations of beta-lactam antibiotics. Probenecid-boosted oral treatment may be an alternative to IV. Alternatively, probenecid could allow less frequent dosing of narrow-spectrum IV agents (e.g. cefazolin), reducing dependence on ceftriaxone in ambulatory settings. This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness and safety of probenecid combined with beta-lactam antibiotics for SSTI treatment.\n\nMethods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through February 2026. Eligible studies assessed the addition of probenecid to beta-lactam therapy in human participants with SSTIs and reported clinical outcomes or adverse effects.\n\nResults: Nine studies (over 1600 participants) were included, most evaluating once-daily IV cefazolin plus probenecid versus ceftriaxone or more frequent cefazolin dosing. Treatment success, failure, relapse and hospital admission rates were similar between groups, indicating that probenecid-boosted cefazolin performs comparably to standard regimens while offering a narrower-spectrum alternative to ceftriaxone. Evidence for oral beta-lactams plus probenecid was more limited but did not suggest inferiority. Adverse events, inconsistently reported, were generally mild and predominantly gastrointestinal, with possibly higher rates in the probenecid-containing regimens.\n\nConclusions: Current evidence suggests probenecid may enable once-daily IV cefazolin as an alternative to ceftriaxone for SSTI, supporting narrower-spectrum antibiotics in ambulatory care. Evidence for using oral beta-lactams plus probenecid remains limited. A robust RCT is needed to determine clinical non-inferiority and acceptability of adverse effects. If effective, this approach could reduce IV complications, healthcare attendance and costs.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Claudette Hewitt"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martin John Llewelyn",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6811-1124"
    },
    {
      "name": "Elizabeth Cross"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a8t16wvj4d6mh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/jac/dkag376",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13732567/",
  "id": "a8t16wvj4d6mh",
  "issns": [
    "0305-7453",
    "1460-2091"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkag376",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/MED00230"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/MED00290"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/MED00740"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2736|Antibiotics Pharmacokinetics and Efficacy"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7225234120",
  "pdf_url": "https://academic.oup.com/jac/article-pdf/81/12/dkag376/73013105/dkag376.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13732567",
  "pmid": "42980223",
  "published": "2026-11-04",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a8t16wvj4d6mh.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:22:31Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13732567",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkag376"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2736|Antibiotics Pharmacokinetics and Efficacy",
      "subfield": "pharmacology-toxicology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Addition of probenecid to beta-lactam antibiotics in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections: a systematic review",
  "title_text": "Addition of probenecid to beta-lactam antibiotics in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections: a systematic review",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:22:31Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a8t16wvj4d6mh",
  "venue": "Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy",
  "versions": []
}