Acute pancreatitis due to erythromycin overdose.
BACKGROUND
Antibiotic overdose is typically regarded as a benign event. We report a 15-year-old girl who developed pancreatitis after an overdose of erythromycin.


METHODS
A 15-year-old girl presented for care because of severe epigastric pain after an overdose of 5.3 g (16 x 333 mg tablets) of erythromycin base. Her physical examination was normal except for epigastric tenderness. Her serum lipase was 2024 U/L (normal, <60). She was treated with intravenous fluids and an opiate analgesic. Her serum lipase declined to 1834 and 73 U/L at 17 and 36 hours, respectively, after the initial measurement at which time she was asymptomatic.


CONCLUSIONS
Our case supports transient pancreatitis as a potential consequence of erythromycin overdose.
Tenenbein
Marshall Stephen
MS
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Canada.
Tenenbein
Milton
M
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000139:chemically induced; D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D062787:Drug Overdose; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000506:poisoning*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000139:chemically induced*
D004917:Erythromycin