Alabama physicians halt prescriptions of common antibiotic
Key Takeaways
Industry Buzz
“Ceftriaxone is an antibiotic we have been using for many, many, many years. It's very safe, it's very effective.” - William Schaffner, MD.
“Persons investigated have had a variety of comorbid conditions and no specific causal link between ceftriaxone and these reactions has been identified at this time.”- Alabama Department of Public Health
Find more of your peers' perspectives and insights below.
Some physicians in Alabama have stopped using a popular antibiotic following a warning from Alabama’s health department.
The Alabama Department of Public Health is investigating eleven reports of adverse events from injections of ceftriaxone (Rocephin) that have occurred over the last few months.[]
“Persons investigated have had a variety of comorbid conditions and no specific causal link between ceftriaxone and these reactions has been identified at this time,” a statement from the department reads.
“Out of an abundance of caution, ADPH will continue to collaborate with healthcare partners to investigate the possibility of epidemiologic links between these events or in connection to receipt of injections of this antibiotic, related diluting substances, or steroid medications often administered in conjunction with antibiotics in healthcare settings.” – Alabama Department of Public Health
Symptoms from adverse events
Some of the cases of adverse events have included symptoms that could be indicative of an anaphylactic reaction including hives, hypoxia, hypotension and pruritus.[]
“While this investigation is ongoing, it is important to keep in mind that, as with any injectable antibiotic, allergic reactions can occur, and measure should be taken to monitor and respond appropriately to such reactions. Cephalosporins, such as ceftriaxone, can cause allergic reaction between 0.5% to 2.5% of patients,” the statement from the Alabama Department of Public Health said.
Ceftriaxone is used to treat infections of the lower respiratory tract, skin and skin structures, urinary tract, bones and joints. It may also be used in the treatment of meningitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, bacterial septicemia and intra abdominal infections.[]
Ceftriaxone may also be given prior to some surgeries to prevent infections following an operation.[]
Is Ceftriaxone safe?
Dr William Schaffner is an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. He says it is interesting that cases of adverse events have been localized in the Alabama area.
“I think it's noteworthy that this has been localized so far to one state, and comparable instances have not, at least, to date, been reported from other states, so I'm not entirely sure what's going on, and that's why the investigation is being undertaken, but the abundance of caution locally seems reasonable. There are alternative antibiotics that can be employed,” he told MDLinx.
“Ceftriaxone is an antibiotic we have been using for many, many, many years. It's very safe, it's very effective. It's often used in hospitals and people who are already very ill.”
He argues that just because adverse events have occurred with ceftriaxone doesn’t mean they were caused by the drug.
“Just because B follows A, that does not mean that A caused B. So we have to look at this very carefully and see whether some of these events, and they're not all well defined, so I'm not entirely sure what they are, could possibly be related to ceftriaxone or perhaps another medication, or perhaps just because of illness in an already very severely ill person,” says Schaffner.