Does Bactroban (Mupirocin) Interact With Clindamycin?

Hello and thank you for your question!

I'm sorry to hear your skin infection hasn't completely cleared up yet, even after your use of clindamycin and Bactroban (mupirocin).

There could be several reasons why you're still experiencing cellulitis, but it's extremely unlikely that you using mupirocin and clindamycin together was any factor.

The topical antibiotic, mupirocin, is very minimally absorbed through the skin and has no known drug interactions.

In fact, the prescribing information for the drug doesn't even have a 'drug interaction' section.

Why Bactroban Doesn't Have Drug Interactions

As I just noted above, mupirocin doesn't have any reported drug interactions.

This is because mupirocin is a topical antibiotic, only intended to be applied to the skin.

When it is applied to the skin, only a very small amount is absorbed into the bloodstream. The following is directly from the FDA-approved prescribing information:

Systemic absorption of mupirocin through intact human skin is minimal following topical administration of mupirocin ointment

In another section of the prescribing information, it provides additional information from a clinical trial in male patients:

Application of 14C-labeled mupirocin ointment to the lower arm of normal male subjects followed by occlusion for 24 hours showed no measurable systemic absorption (less than 1.1 nanogram mupirocin per milliliter of whole blood)

Since mupirocin isn't absorbed from intact skin, there really isn't a risk of drug interactions, including with other antibiotics, like clindamycin.

Final Words

Be sure to discuss your ongoing cellulitis problem with your doctor.

As I mentioned, there could be several reasons why it hasn't cleared up yet.

For example, the specific bacteria causing your infection may not be sensitive to clindamycin, leading to treatment failure. Another possible reason could be not using the drug for a long enough period of time.

The fact that you said the affected area started to look better and then got worse, leads me to believe you weren't on antibiotic therapy long enough, or clindamycin simply wasn't the best choice to treat your infection.

There are several other antibiotics that may work for you so be sure to let your doctor know what is going on.

Thanks again for reaching out to us!