Metronidazole Injectable: Dosing and Precautions
Metronidazole injectable guidance for severe anaerobic bacterial infections.
Also searched as
Source reviewed
source date listed on the source page
Guide category
Injectable drugs
Safety boundary
Prescription medicine information for clinician-guided use.
Kenza Health Hub presents this medicine page as structured health education. Check dose, route, interactions, pregnancy or breast-feeding considerations, and local protocol with a qualified clinician or pharmacist. Read our medical editorial policy.
Therapeutic action
Antiprotozoal, antibacterial.
Indications
Severe infections due to anaerobic bacteria such as Bacteroides species and Clostridium species.
Forms and strengths, route of administration
- 500 mg in 100 ml vial or bag (5 mg/ml), for infusion to be administered over 30 minutes.
Dose
- Child 1 month and over: 10 mg/kg every 8 hours, maximum 1500 mg daily.
- Adult: 500 mg every 8 hours.
Duration
According to indication. Change to oral treatment as soon as possible.
Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions
- Do not administer to patients with allergy to metronidazole or another nitroimidazole such as tinidazole or secnidazole.
- Do not drink alcohol during treatment.
- May cause gastrointestinal disturbances, brownish urine, allergic reactions, headache, and dizziness.
- Monitor combination with anticoagulants, lithium, phenytoin, and ergometrine.
- Administer with caution and reduce the total daily dose to one third, given once daily, in patients with severe hepatic impairment.
- Pregnancy: no contra-indication.
- Breast-feeding: avoid.
- Metronidazole is as effective by oral route as by parenteral route.
- Do not add any drug in the infusion vial.
Source
MSF Essential drugs practical guidelines (January 2026)
This page combines source-derived medicine reference sections with Kenza editorial context, while leaving out the Storage and Remarks sections from the source batch.
Rate this guide
Be the first to rate this guide.