title: Life-threatening rhabdomyolysis following the interaction of two commonly prescribed medications.
abstract: We report an interaction between erythromycin and simvastatin resulting in life-threatening rhabdomyolysis in an elderly patient. Drugs that inhibit CYP3A4 enzyme can cause elevated serum levels of statins which amplifies the risk of statin-induced rhabdomyolysis. Physicians should be aware of potential drug interactions of statins, which are widely used in the community.
authors.affiliation: Box Hill Hospital, Department of General Medicine.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fallah
authors.forename: Maitri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deep
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smallwood
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hughes
keywords: Drug interaction; Macrolides; Rhabdomyolysis; Statins