Mupirocin is a topical antibiotic (nasal ointment or cream) used mainly to eliminate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from the nasal cavity and to treat superficial skin infections. Systemic absorption is minimal, which makes it safe for local use, but it should be reserved for the indicated cases to avoid resistance.
Also known as: Mupirocina, Bactroban
No documented drug–drug interactions for this medicine.
No documented food or drink interactions.
No documented disease interactions.
Prontuário: "Avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding". FDA label (ointment): insufficient human data; no developmental toxicity observed in rats (160 mg/kg/day) and rabbits (40 mg/kg/day) — minimal systemic absorption reduces the risk of fetal exposure.
Minimal systemic absorption; the risk of fetal exposure is low, but the Prontuário recommends avoiding during pregnancy.
Unknown whether it is excreted in breast milk; minimal systemic absorption suggests negligible infant exposure, but the Prontuário recommends avoiding during breastfeeding.
Not applicable (occasional topical use; no need for specific contraception).
Prontuário Terapêutico do INFARMED (11th ed., 2012) — Mupirocin, 14.1.5 ; DailyMed/FDA — approved Mupirocin ointment label, section 8 Use in Specific Populations: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=b8e115ce-c8ff-4d08-b865-71dc4d0e51a1
Clinical and educational support tool. The information does not replace a medical prescription or the opinion of a qualified healthcare professional.
Topical antibiotic with broad activity against Gram-positive organisms (including S. aureus and S. pyogenes) and some Gram-negative organisms. Occlusive application to intact skin for 24 hours produced no measurable systemic absorption (less than 1.1 ng/ml whole blood — FDA label), confirming the drug's local profile.
Inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by reversible, specific binding to isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS), blocking the incorporation of isoleucine into bacterial tRNA — a mechanism with no structural homologue in mammals, which explains its selectivity.
Minimal systemic absorption through nasal mucosa and intact skin: occlusive application of radiolabelled ointment for 24 h showed no measurable absorption (< 1.1 ng/ml) — "no measurable systemic absorption" (FDA label). Local safety is the dominant profile.
Metabolism is essentially local at the application site; the absorbed fraction is rapidly metabolised to the inactive mupirocic acid.
Elimination half-life after intravenous administration: 20 to 40 minutes for mupirocin and 30 to 80 minutes for the metabolite (experimental data from the FDA label).
