title: [Is combining metronidazole and alcohol really hazardous?].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is common practice to warn against intake of alcohol (ethanol) when taking metronidazole because of the risk of an effect similar to disulfiram (Antabuse). In this article we investigate whether such a warning has any real basis. KNOWLEDGE BASE: The article is based on a review of relevant literature retrieved through a search in PubMed. A search was also made in the WHO's database on adverse effects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No in-vitro studies, animal models, reports of adverse effects or clinical studies provide any convincing evidence of a disulfiram-like interaction between ethanol and metronidazole.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The warning against simultaneous use of alcohol and metronidazole appear to be based on laboratory experiments and individual case histories in which the reported reactions are equally likely to have been caused by ethanol alone or by adverse effects of metronidazole. Recent research does not confirm a clinically relevant interaction between ethanol and metronidazole.
authors.affiliation: RELIS Sør-Øst og Avdeling for smittevern Oslo universitetssykehus.
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fjeld
authors.affiliation: RELIS Nord-Norge Universitetssykehuset Nord-Norge og Nasjonalt kompetansesenter for legevaktmedisin Uni Research Helse Bergen.
authors.forename: Guttorm
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Raknes
mesh_terms: D000427:Alcohol Deterrents / Q000009:adverse effects; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004221:Disulfiram / Q000009:adverse effects; D004347:Drug Interactions; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000427:Alcohol Deterrents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D008795:Metronidazole; D000431:Ethanol; D004221:Disulfiram