Drug Database: Clindamycin

What is clindamycin?

Clindamycin is an antibacterial prescription medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of certain serious bacterial infections, such as: 

• Respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia
• Skin and soft tissue infections
• Infections of the female pelvis and genital tract

Community-acquired pneumonia, a bacterial respiratory infection, can be an opportunistic infection (OI) of HIV. An OI is an infection that occurs more frequently or is more severe in people with weakened immune systems—such as people with HIV—than in people with healthy immune systems. To learn more about OIs, read the HIVinfo What is an Opportunistic Infection? fact sheet.

How is clindamycin used in people with HIV?

The Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV and the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Children with and Exposed to HIV include recommendations on the uses of clindamycin in people with HIV to:

• Community-acquired pneumonia, suspected to be caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA is a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics.
• Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP)
• Toxoplasma gondii encephalitis
• Malaria

• Toxoplasma gondii encephalitis from recurring

The recommended uses may not always be consistent with FDA-approved uses of clindamycin. See the Adult and Pediatric Opportunistic Infection Guidelines for complete information on recommended uses of clindamycin in adults and children with HIV. Clindamycin may have other recommended uses not listed above. 

What should I tell my health care provider before using clindamycin?

Before using clindamycin, tell your health care provider:

• If you are allergic to clindamycin or any other medicines.
• About any medical conditions you have or have had, including: 
  • Gastrointestinal diseases, such as colitis
  • Asthma, allergies, or eczema (a skin condition causing an itchy, red, scaly rash)
  • Liver or kidney problems
• About anything that could affect your ability to take medicines, such as difficulty swallowing pills, difficulty remembering to take pills, or any health conditions that may prevent you from receiving medicine by injection or infusion.
• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Clindamycin should be used during the first trimester of pregnancy only if clearly needed. Talk to your health care provider about the risks and benefits of using clindamycin during pregnancy. The Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV may include other recommendations on the use of clindamycin during pregnancy. Please refer to these guidelines for additional information. 
• If you are breast/chestfeeding or plan to breast/chestfeed. For people with HIV in the United States, the Guideline recommends speaking with your health care provider to discuss options for feeding your baby. People with suppressed viral load have a less than 1% chance of transmitting HIV to their baby via their own milk.
• About other prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Clindamycin may affect the way other medicines or products work, and other medicines or products may affect how clindamycin works. Ask your health care provider if there are interactions between clindamycin and the other medicines you take.

Ask your health care provider about possible side effects from clindamycin. Your health care provider will tell you what to do if you have side effects.

How should I use clindamycin?

Use clindamycin according to your health care provider’s instructions. Your health care provider will tell you how much clindamycin to use and when to use it. Before you start clindamycin and each time you get a refill, read any printed information that comes with your medicine.

How should clindamycin be stored?

• Store clindamycin capsules, granules for oral solution, and injection solution at room temperature, 68°F to 77°F (20°C to 25°C).
• Do not refrigerate the reconstituted oral solution; when chilled, the solution may thicken and be difficult to pour. The solution is stable for 2 weeks at room temperature.
• Do not use clindamycin if the original seal over the container opening is broken or missing.
• Throw away clindamycin that is no longer needed or expired (out of date). Follow FDA guidelines on how to safely dispose of unused medicine.
• Keep clindamycin and all medicines out of reach of children.

Where can I find more information about clindamycin?

• Recommendations on the HIV-related uses of clindamycin, from the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV and the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Children with and Exposed to HIV.
• This Patient Version drug summary is based on the following FDA label(s): Granule (for solution); Injection (solution); Capsule.
• The American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Patient Medication Information for clindamycin and clindamycin injection available from MedlinePlus.
• Clindamycin-related research studies, from ClinicalTrials.gov. (The ClinicalTrials.gov search can be modified so that you can get results that better match your interests. To learn more about the ClinicalTrials.gov search features, please see How to Search.)