The most common side effects with Cubicin (which may affect between 1 and 10 patients in 100) are infections caused by fungi (moulds and yeasts), urinary tract infections (infection of the structures that carry urine), Candida infection (a fungal infection), anaemia (low red blood cell counts), anxiety, insomnia (difficulty sleeping), dizziness, headache, hypertension (high blood pressure), hypotension (low blood pressure), gastrointestinal and abdominal pain (belly ache), nausea (feeling sick), vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, flatulence (gas), bloating and distension (feeling as if the tummy is full), rash, pruritus (itching), pain in the limbs (arms or legs), infusion site reactions, pyrexia (fever), asthenia (weakness), abnormal liver tests and raised levels in the blood of an enzyme called CPK (a marker of muscle damage).

Serious side effects include hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions, eosinophilic pneumonia (infection of the lungs), drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS, a severe reaction affecting the skin, blood and internal organs), angioedema (rapid swelling of deeper skin tissues) and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of muscle fibres).

For the full list of side effects and restrictions of Cubicin, see the package leaflet.