Drug interactions
Cefepime + Gentamicin
Severity: Moderate
Cefepime and Gentamicin: moderate interaction.
Last updated
For healthcare professionals — reference only. This page is a brief summary, not medical advice and not a substitute for official labeling or clinical judgement. Always verify before prescribing or dispensing.
Summary
Both are given intravenously and both are cleared by the kidney, and gentamicin also carries ototoxicity risk. Cefepime is not strongly nephrotoxic, but renal decline raises exposure to both drugs, increasing gentamicin toxicity and cefepime neurotoxicity.
What this interaction means in plain words
Cefepime and Gentamicin can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken.
Cefepime belongs to Anti Bacterial; Gentamicin belongs to Anti Bacterial.
Why it happens
Possible additive renal effects; both drugs are renally cleared, so declining renal function raises exposure to each.
What to do
Monitor serum creatinine and gentamicin levels, and adjust the doses of both drugs to renal function. Watch for confusion or myoclonus from cefepime accumulation and for hearing changes.
What to ask your pharmacist
- Should I take them at different times of day?
- Does the dose of either medicine need to change?
- Is there anything I should avoid, such as alcohol or certain foods, while on both?
Pro+ members
Unlock the full page
Create an account and start a Pro+ trial to unlock the full management advice for Cefepime and Gentamicin, the additional notes, the evidence detail and the whole-prescription interaction checker.
- Full clinical management advice
- Additional notes
- Evidence detail
- Interaction checker for a whole prescription
Try Pro+ free for 14 days on the web. No card needed.
Other interactions of Cefepime
- Amikacin + Cefepime Moderate
- Cefepime + Cholera vaccine Moderate
- Cefepime + Dexamethasone-tobramycin Moderate
- Cefepime + Kanamycin Moderate
- Cefepime + Microbiota Moderate
- Cefepime + Plazomicin Moderate
Other interactions of Gentamicin
- Cidofovir + Gentamicin Contraindicated
- Adefovir + Gentamicin Major
- Amikacin + Gentamicin Major
- Amlodipine-hydrochlorothiazide-valsartan + Gentamicin Major
- Amphotericin b deoxycholate + Gentamicin Major
- Amphotericin b + Gentamicin Major
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Cefepime with Gentamicin?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Cefepime and Gentamicin can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken. Both are given intravenously and both are cleared by the kidney, and gentamicin also carries ototoxicity risk. Cefepime is not strongly nephrotoxic, but renal decline raises exposure to both drugs, increasing gentamicin toxicity and cefepime neurotoxicity.
How serious is the interaction between Cefepime and Gentamicin?
MediHelp rates it moderate, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Monitor serum creatinine and gentamicin levels, and adjust the doses of both drugs to renal function. Watch for confusion or myoclonus from cefepime accumulation and for hearing changes.
What other medicines interact with Cefepime?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Cefepime with, for example, Amikacin, Cholera vaccine, Dexamethasone-tobramycin. The full list is on the Cefepime page.
Full monographs, dosing and an interaction checker in the MediHelp app
Open the complete reference, check multi-drug interactions and use dosing tools in the MediHelp app.
