Cephalothin and Hemolytic Anemia

Excerpt

To the editor: In the May 1970 issue of the ANNALS, Drs. Weinstein and Kaplan in the article "The Cephalosporins" made the following statement: "Therapy with cephalothin and, much less commonly, with cephaloridine may lead to the development of a positive Coombs' reaction, sometimes accompanied by hemolytic anemia (78-80)."

In the three references cited, none of the authors were able to relate the positive Coombs' test from cephalothin or cephaloridine to a hemolytic state. I am not aware of any report of hemolytic anemia definitely caused by the cephalosporins and would be interested in any further information justifying their statement.