Photo Credit: Wisely

Sulfonamide antibiotics and cephalosporins are associated with serious cutaneous adverse drug reactions (cADRs), according to a study published in JAMA. Erika Y. Lee, MD, and colleagues examined data for 21,758 adults aged 66 years or older who received at least one oral antibiotic. Cases were those with an ED visit or hospitalization for serious cADRs within 60 days of the prescription (n=21,758); each case was matched to four controls (n=87,025) without ED visits or hospitalizations for cADRs. Sulfonamides and cephalosporins were most strongly associated with serious cADRs relative to macrolides (adjusted ORs [aORs], 2.9 and 2.6, respectively). In addition, associations were seen for nitrofurantoin (aOR, 2.2), penicillins (aOR, 1.4), and fluoroquinolones (aOR, 1.3). The highest crude rate of ED visits or hospitalization for cADRs was seen for cephalosporins and sulfonamide antibiotics (4.92 and 3.22 per 1,000 prescriptions, respectively). The median length of stay among the 2,852 cases hospitalized for cADRs was 6 days.