Steroidal antibiotic
Fusidic acid
Brand names: Fucidin, Fucibet (with steroid)
Adult dose
Dose: Topical: apply BD–QDS for 7 days. PO: 750mg TDS (sodium fusidate). IV: 500mg TDS
Route: Topical/PO/IV
Frequency: BD-TDS
Clinical pearls
- Anti-staphylococcal — including MRSA. Resistance develops rapidly — short courses, use in combination for systemic infection
- Topical use should be ≤7 days to minimise resistance
Contraindications
- Hypersensitivity
- Concurrent statins (myopathy/rhabdomyolysis — STOP statin during course)
Side effects
- Hepatotoxicity (cholestatic) — systemic
- GI upset
- Local irritation
- Reversible jaundice
Interactions
- Statins — major: rhabdomyolysis (stop statin)
- Warfarin
- Ritonavir-containing regimens
Monitoring
- LFTs (systemic)
Reference: BNF; MHRA Drug Safety Update (statin interaction); https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/fusidic-acid/. Verify against your local formulary and the latest BNF before prescribing.
Related
Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.
Calculators
- Steroid Dose Equivalence · Medications
- Adrenal Crisis Risk Score · Adrenal Disorders
- Centor / McIsaac Score for Strep Pharyngitis · Throat
- Lille Model (Steroid Response in Alcoholic Hepatitis) · Alcoholic Liver Disease
- Ho Index for Predicting Response to Medical Therapy in IBD · Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Steroid Conversion Calculator · Drug Dosing
Pathways
- Infective Endocarditis · ESC 2023 Infective Endocarditis Guidelines; NICE NG41
- Eczema Herpeticum · BAD; NICE CKS
- Suspected Bacterial Meningitis (Adult) · NICE NG240 (2024); NICE NG143 (paeds)
- Clostridioides difficile Colitis · NICE NG199 (2021); IDSA/SHEA 2021
- Returning Traveller — Fever · NaTHNaC; PHE; ESCMID 2018
- Malaria — Diagnosis & Management · PHE 2016; WHO 2023