Clarithromycin May Increase Cardiac Death Risk

Clarithromycin use could be associated with an increase in cardiac death, according to a recent study.

According to researchers at the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, clarithromycin remains one of the most used antibiotics worldwide.
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To evaluate the relationship between short-term use of penicillin V, roxithromycin, and clarithromycin and cardiac death, researchers studied over 5 million Danish adults who recieved 7-day treatment with one of the drugs over a 14-year period. 

Overall, 285 cardiac deaths occurred; of the deaths, 18 were linked to Clarithromycin use,

Clarithromycin was associated with a greater risk of cardiac death (5.3 per 1000 person-years) compared to the other drugs (2.5 per 1000 person-years).

The complete study is published in the August issue of the British Medical Journal.

-Michelle Canales

Reference:

Svanstrom H, Pasternak B, Hviid A. Use of clarithromycin and roxithromycin and risk of cardiac death: cohort study. BMJ. 2014 August [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bm.