Pseudomembranous Colitis Associated with Erythromycin

  1. NELSON M. GANTZ, M.D.;
  2. JOHN K. ZAWACKI, M.D.;
  3. W. JOHN DICKERSON, M.D.; and
  4. JOHN G. BARTLETT, M.D.
  1. University of Massachusetts Medical School;
    Worcester, Massachusetts
  2. Veterans Administration Hospital and Tufts University School of Medicine;
    Boston, Massachusetts

    Excerpt

    Tissue culture assays and bacterial cultures indicate that Clostridium difficile is commonly responsible for the diarrheal complications of antimicrobial use. Multiple agents have been implicated, but there is a paucity of cases due to erythromycins. This especially applies to pseudomembranous colitis; recent reviews suggest that no well-confirmed cases have been reported (1, 2). We report here the cases of a patient with pseudomembranous colitis and another with antibiotic-associated diarrhea. In each instance, the complications were associated with erythromycin therapy, and C. difficile appears to be the responsible agent. Thus, erythromycins should be added to the growing list of antimicrobials in

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    1. Ann Intern Med December 1, 1979 vol. 91 no. 6 866-867
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