According to the nomenclature established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to devise international nonproprietary names (INNs), the INNs of nitroimidazole derivatives (antibacterials or anti-parasitics) end in the common stem -nidazole (1). Four drugs with this stem were marketed in France as anti-infectives as of 2 January 2018: metro-nidazole, alone or as part of various fixed-dose combinations, for oral use, vaginal use, or injection; oral or injectable ornidazole; oral secnidazole; and oral tinidazole. Metronidazole is also marketed in France for cutaneous use in rosacea. Be careful to identify the whole stem, because several other stems end in -azole but denote drugs that belong to different pharmacological classes, such as: -prazole for proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole; -piprazole for neuroleptics derived from phenylpiperazine, such as aripiprazole; and -conazole for antifungals derived from miconazole (2).
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