Pancreatitis associated with the use of itraconazole.
BACKGROUND
We call attention to the assumed association between itraconazole and pancreatitis by presentation of four Dutch case reports.


RESULTS
The Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb received four reports of pancreatitis associated with the use of itraconazole, all reported by health professionals. The diagnosis of pancreatitis was confirmed by diagnostic tests. All four patients had been using relatively high doses of itraconazole. In two of these cases, recurrent use of itraconazole resulted in recurrent symptoms. We describe these four cases and discuss the possible mechanism.


CONCLUSIONS
The presented cases suggest a causal relation between itraconazole and pancreatitis. Given the often mild indication for the use of itraconazole and the seriousness of this possible adverse drug reaction, it is essential that more data are obtained in order to strengthen the causality of this association. Physicians are invited to report their experiences on the subject.
Passier
J L M
JL
van Puijenbroek
E P
EP
Jonkers
G J P M
GJ
van Grootheest
A C
AC
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017964:Itraconazole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis
D000935:Antifungal Agents; D017964:Itraconazole