ABSTRACT
CASE: An 81-year-old female with multiple co-morbidities including recent covid-19, presented to the emergency room with shortness of breath. On arrival, she was febrile with a temperature of 101F, pulse 100 beats/min, respiratory rate 14, blood pressure 196/163 and saturating at 75% on 10 L non-rebreather mask. Initial blood work showed WBC 10.9, lactic acid 1.7, BUN/creatinine 27/1.7 (consistent with her baseline), ABG showed pH 7.37, PCO2 49, PO2 88, HCO3 27.9. Chest x-ray demonstrated volume loss in the left hemithorax, airspace disease in the left mid lung and lung base. Due to suspicion for superimposed bacterial pneumonia and positive blood cultures for staphylococcus haemolyticus, she was started on vancomycin and azithromycin. Choice of antibiotics was challenging as she was allergic to penicillin and cephalosporins. During hospitalization, her kidney function deteriorated, vancomycin was substituted with tigecycline on day 3. Day 5 of treatment, she developed multiple episodes of vomiting with epigastric pain, lipase was 4523. Acute pancreatitis was diagnosed with tigecycline presumed to be the inciting agent in the absence of other risk factors such as gall stones, chronic alcohol use, elevated triglycerides, previous known episodes of pancreatitis or any other causative medications. Tigecycline was switched back to vancomycin and she received aggressive IV fluid hydration which also improved her kidney function. Within 48 hours, the patient had improved oxygen saturation, resolution of her abdominal pain, and good oral intake marking significant overall clinical progress. She was discharged on home oxygen and few more days of IV vancomycin for bacteremia. IMPACT/DISCUSSION: Tigecycline is a broad-spectrum glycylcycline antimicrobial agent belonging to the tetracycline class of antibiotics. Tetracyclines have been associated with acute pancreatitis in literature, and concerns about tigecycline-induced acute pancreatitis have been raised over the past decade in post marketing surveys, we described one such case above. Using the Naranjo Adverse Drug reaction probability scale, a score of 6 was achieved, indicating that the patient's pancreatitis was probably related to tigecycline. CONCLUSION: We recommend physicians monitor patients for signs and symptoms of pancreatitis including abdominal pain after initiating treatment with tigecycline. There should be a low threshold for ordering lipase levels and abdominal CT imaging where indicated. If the patient has symptoms concerning for acute pancreatitis, consider stopping tigecycline and switching to a different class of antibiotics immediately.
ABSTRACT
TOPIC: Obstructive Lung Diseases TYPE: Medical Student/Resident Case Reports INTRODUCTION: Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by bronchial dilatation leading to daily productive cough and recurrent respiratory infections.[1] Causes of bronchiectasis is broadly divided into Cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF. Reducing the microbial load with antibiotics and clearing secretions form the cornerstone of prophylactic and therapeutic management of exacerbations. We present a case were initiation of cyclical prophylaxis with combined Aztreonam lysine inhalation (AZLI) and azithromycin resulted in a significant increase in exacerbation free interval of a patient with non-CF bronchiectasis. CASE PRESENTATION: This is a 63-year-old female non-smoker with history of non-CF bronchiectasis who presented to the emergency department with complaints of productive cough associated with greenish brown sputum, fever and shortness of breath for 2 weeks. Her past medical history was significant for recurrent exacerbations of bronchiectasis every 2-3 months including pneumonia with pseudomonas. She was then started on prophylactic 28 day cyclical 75mg AZLI inhalation TID and oral azithromycin daily. Since then she remained exacerbation free for 19 months before this presentation. On presentation, the patient was afebrile, spo2 96% on room air. On physical examination, she was in mild respiratory distress with rhonchi present in bilateral lung fields. WBC was elevated at 14.6, Sars-Cov-19 RAT was negative. Chest x-ray demonstrated diffuse bilateral pulmonary opacities. Patient was initiated on meropenem and de-escalated to ceftazidime after sensitivities were known. She improved clinically and was discharged home after 14 days of treatment. At discharge, patient was continued on the cyclical AZLI and daily azithromycin regiment. DISCUSSION: Several clinical trials have attempted to use inhaled antibiotic treatment for CF bronchiectasis to prevent exacerbations. The inhalation of anti-pseudomonal antibiotics including aztreonam is the preferred therapeutic option. In addition, macrolides also provide benefit to reduce frequency of exacerbations.[2]With increasing prevalence of non-CF bronchiectasis, small studies have begun to address this population. Two randomized control trials utilizing AZLI demonstrated reduction in sputum Pseudomonas density but did not show reduction in bronchiectasis exacerbations or hospitalizations.[3]Thus inconsistent results from studies assessing antibiotics used in non-CF bronchiectasis leave need for further study. CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates an effective cyclical prophylactic regiment with both a low risk of toxicity and a low risk for emergence of organisms in non-CF bronchiectasis. Further attention with a randomized control study to assess the effects on need for systemic antibiotics, hospitalization, and overall morbidity is warranted. REFERENCE #1: Chalmers JD, Aliberti S, Blasi F. Management of bronchiectasis in adults. Eur Respir J. 2015;45: 1446-1462 REFERENCE #2: Kelly C, Chalmers JD, Crossingham I, et al. Macrolide antibiotics for bronchiectasis. Cochrane database Syst Review. 2018;3: CD012406 REFERENCE #3: Fjaellegaard K, Sin MD, Browatzki A, Ulrik CS. Antibiotic therapy for stable non- CF bronchiectasis in adults- A systematic review. Chron Respir Dis. 2017;14: 174-186 DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Sindhoora Adyanthaya, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Manjyot Bajwa, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Sucheta Kundu, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Aksiniya Stevasarova, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Jan Westerman, source=Web Response