Cefuroxime and Probenecid Interaction

Drug interaction information between Cefuroxime and Probenecid.

Cefuroxime and Probenecid have a documented moderate interaction in FDA labeling.

FDA drug labeling documents a moderate-severity interaction between Cefuroxime and Probenecid. Major interactions are generally avoided, moderate ones may need monitoring or a dose adjustment, and minor ones are usually low-risk. This page shows the documented mechanism and guidance. Label-documented interactions are not a complete safety review, so always confirm your own medications with a pharmacist or doctor. Educational information, not medical advice.

Drug A

Cefuroxime

Second-Generation Cephalosporin

Drug B

Probenecid

Uricosuric Agent

How They Interact

Probenecid slows down the kidneys from removing the antibiotic from your blood. This leads to higher levels of the antibiotic in your body.

What To Do

Taking these two drugs together is not recommended. Your doctor will likely choose a different treatment plan.

FDA Label Information

( 7.1 ) Coadministration with probenecid increases systemic exposure to cefuroxime axetil and is therefore not recommended. 7.2 Probenecid Concomitant administration of probenecid with cefuroxime axetil tablets increases serum concentrations of cefuroxime [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )]. Coadministration of probenecid with cefuroxime axetil is not recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take Cefuroxime and Probenecid together?

This is a moderate interaction. Taking these two drugs together is not recommended. Your doctor will likely choose a different treatment plan.

How serious is the interaction between Cefuroxime and Probenecid?

This interaction is classified as "moderate" severity by the FDA. Moderate interactions may worsen your condition or change how your medications work.

Why do Cefuroxime and Probenecid interact?

Probenecid slows down the kidneys from removing the antibiotic from your blood. This leads to higher levels of the antibiotic in your body.

Understanding the Cefuroxime and Probenecid Interaction

FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a moderate-severity interaction. Cefuroxime belongs to the Second-Generation Cephalosporin class and Probenecid belongs to the Uricosuric Agent class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Probenecid slows down the kidneys from removing the antibiotic from your blood. Severity tiers matter: major flags generally advise avoidance, moderate flags often require monitoring or dose adjustment, and minor flags may only call for awareness.

Context around a specific patient determines real-world impact. Cefuroxime has 1 total documented interaction on file in this dataset, and Probenecid has 37. Each additional medication compounds the interaction surface, which is why pharmacists run full-profile checks rather than evaluating one pair at a time. FDA-derived guidance for this pair is: Taking these two drugs together is not recommended. Timing of doses, renal and hepatic function, age, and other concurrent prescriptions all shape whether a labeled interaction matters clinically.

An interaction flag is not a verdict. A large share of labeled interactions are managed routinely in clinical practice, the fix may be as simple as spacing doses or adding a monitoring test. Others require the prescriber to choose a different medication entirely. This page surfaces FDA-sourced labeling and openFDA data for educational purposes only; it is not medical advice and cannot account for your full clinical picture. Never start, stop, or adjust either Cefuroxime or Probenecid based on a web page, speak with your prescriber or pharmacist before making any change.

Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about drug interactions.