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Drug Interactions With Keflex
Drug interactions with Keflex can cause kidney damage, change the way your body metabolizes the medicine, and cause live typhoid vaccine to be less effective. Some of the drugs that Keflex can interact with include probenecid, amikacin, gentamicin, and kanamycin. If any of these drug interactions with Keflex occur, your healthcare provider may choose to monitor your progress more closely or adjust your dosages.
Keflex® (cephalexin) can interact with a number of medicines. These drug interactions with Keflex include but are not limited to:
- Probenecid (Benemid®, Probalan®)
- Aminoglycosides, such as amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, neomycin, streptomycin, and tobramycin
- Metformin (Glucophage®, Fortamet®, Glumetza™)
- Live, attenuated typhoid vaccine.
The following sections explain in detail the potentially negative interactions that can occur when Keflex is taken with any of the medications listed above.
Probenecid
If you are taking both Keflex and probenecid, your body may metabolize the drugs differently than intended. This can significantly increase the amount of Keflex in your system. Your healthcare provider may choose to monitor your progress more closely and adjust your dosage accordingly to prevent this interaction.
Aminoglycosides
If Keflex and an aminoglycoside antibiotic are taken together, the combination may result in increased kidney damage. As a result, your healthcare provider may choose to monitor your progress more closely and adjust your dosage accordingly.
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD