What is the most important information I should know about imipenem and cilastatin?
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to imipenem and cilastatin, or to
lidocaine or other local anesthetics (numbing medicine). You should not use imipenem and
cilastatin if you have heart block.
Before using imipenem and cilastatin, tell your doctor if you have kidney disease (or if
you are on dialysis), or a seizure disorder.
Also tell your doctor if you are either allergic to or are currently taking a penicillin or
cephalosporin antibiotic such as Amoxil, Augmentin, Bactocill, Beepen-VK, Ceclor, Ceftin,
Duricef, Dycill, Dynapen, Keflex, Ledercillin VK, Omnipen, Pen-V, Pfizerpen, Principen,
Veetids, and others.
Before using imipenem and cilastatin, tell your doctor if you are also taking ganciclovir
(Cytovene) or probenecid (Benemid).
Primaxin IM (for the muscle) and Primaxin IV (for the vein) are different
forms of this medicine and should be used only for their specific type of injection. Do not
inject Primaxin IM into a vein and do not inject Primaxin IV into a muscle.
Call your doctor at once if you have serious side effects such as pounding heartbeats,
confusion, hallucinations, seizure (convulsions), feeling light-headed, fainting, flu symptoms,
nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, dark urine, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), or a
severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash.
Less serious side effects may include pain, swelling, or redness where the medicine was
injected, mild stomach discomfort, sore throat, vaginal itching or discharge, mild skin rash,
dizziness or tired feeling, numbness or tingling, or ringing in your ears.
Antibiotic medicines can cause diarrhea, which may be a sign of a new infection. If you
have diarrhea that is watery or has blood in it, call your doctor. Do not use any medicine to stop
the diarrhea unless your doctor has told you to.