Use of carbenicillin can cause hypokalemia by promoting potassium loss at the distal convoluted tubule of the kidney.

[citation needed] In molecular biology, carbenicillin may be preferred as a selecting agent (see plasmid stabilisation technology) because its breakdown results in byproducts with a lower toxicity than analogous antibiotics like ampicillin.

Carbenicillin is more stable than ampicillin and results in fewer satellite colonies on selection plates.

[citation needed] Carbenicillin has been shown to be effective against bacteria responsible for causing urinary tract infections including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and some Proteus species.

The following represents carbenicillin susceptibility data for a few medically significant organisms.