Problematic drug interactions with antimicrobials

American researchers have recently studied the potential for serious drug interactions involving antimicrobial agents, in a report published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection. The researchers studied national-level patterns of contraindications between oral antibacterial or antifungal agents and patients’ other oral medications. Examining 1,235,000 outpatient visits where the patient was prescribed an antimicrobial agent associated with a contraindicated drug-drug interaction, finding s revealed that the most common problem combinations included macrolide-containing products (erythromycin or clarithromycin) co-prescribed with statins and fluoroquinolones with antiarrhythmic agents (e.g. amiodarone, sotalol).