Use of the macrolide clarithromycin in patients admitted with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or community-acquired pneumonia is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular events, a BMJ study finds.

Researchers examined outcomes among nearly 3000 patients admitted to U.K. hospitals with either condition. During 1 year of follow-up, there were roughly 450 new admissions for a CV event.

After multivariable adjustment, patients who had received at least one dose of clarithromycin during their initial hospitalization were over 50% more likely to be admitted for a CV event during follow-up than those who didn’t receive a macrolide. In addition, among COPD patients, clarithromycin use was associated with increased risk for CV mortality at 1 year.

The researchers say their study is the first to show that clarithromycin use among such patients might be associated with an increased CV risk that persists well after treatment has stopped. Several potential mechanisms for this effect are proposed in the paper.

Source: BMJ