title: Serum sickness-like reaction after the treatment of cellulitis with amoxicillin/clavulanate.
abstract: Serum sickness-like reaction is a rare disease presentation. We describe a case of a man aged 58 years who presented with acute-onset polyarthralgia, intense pruritus of hands and feet, fever to 39.5°C and leucocytosis to 17.2×103/mm35 days after completing a 10-day course of amoxicillin/clavulanate for the treatment of finger cellulitis. With history, symptoms, physical examination findings and reported cases in the literature of serum sickness-like reactions to amoxicillin, a clinical diagnosis of serum sickness-like reaction was made. The patient was treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatories with improvement in symptoms by the time of discharge.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patterson-Fortin
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Che Mathew
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Ashwini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niranjan-Azadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melia
mesh_terms: D019980:Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000139:chemically induced; D002481:Cellulitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000209:etiology*; D005533:Foot Dermatoses / Q000139:chemically induced; D006229:Hand Dermatoses / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011537:Pruritus / Q000139:chemically induced; D012713:Serum Sickness / Q000139:chemically induced*; D065093:beta-Lactamase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D065093:beta-Lactamase Inhibitors; D019980:Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination