Amoxicillin-Clavulanate in Tuberculosis Disease

Abstract In the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), antibiotics for presumed bacterial pneumonia may be implicated in diagnostic delays. The same antibiotics are sometimes active against TB, the quinolones being a prominent example. We present the case of a patient with multidrug-resistant TB whose symptoms and radiologic studies improved on amoxicillin-clavulanate to treat presumed necrotizing pneumonia, leading to a complicated and prolonged diagnostic course. We then review the literature on effects of amoxicillin-clavulanate in TB disease, including both in vivo and in vitro studies that have been published to date.