When a patient goes to the doctor for a simple chest cold, upper respiratory infection or bladder infection, he or she doesn’t expect that the outcome of the visit may ultimately be the need for a liver transplant.

However, for some patients, this has been the case, and liver failure may happen more often than one might think.

Zithromax Antibiotic

Zithromax (azithromycin) is a macrolide antibiotic that is used to treat a number of mild to moderate infections in patients. Rather than killing bacteria, it halts the reproduction of bacteria so the body’s immune system can get the infection under control. Conditions commonly treated with Zithromax include:

• Bronchitis
• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
• Pneumonia
• Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Sinusitis
• Upper Respiratory Infections
• Urethritis
• Urinary Tract Infections

Zithromax’s popularity among patients and doctors is in part because of the medication’s ease of use and shorter treatment course as compared to other antibiotics. Unlike most antibiotics that take 10-14 days for a full course, Zithromax is commonly used in 3 to 5 day packs. Patients are more likely to finish the course of medication, and physicians appreciate the increased patient compliance.

Zithromax Adverse Effects

Mild to serious side effects may occur with Zithromax use. Serious Zithromax adverse effects include:

• Liver failure (and subsequent need for liver transplant)
• Kidney failure
• Trachoma (a serious eye infection that may lead to blindness)
• Stevens Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (a potentially fatal drug reaction)

Zithromax Liver Failure

According to the National Institutes of Health, “Because azithromycin has become so commonly used, it has also become one of the more common causes of drug induced liver injury.  The liver injury caused by azithromycin resembles that described with other macrolides and is typically cholestatic, arising within 1 to 3 weeks of starting treatment (Case 1).  It occasionally arises after azithromycin is stopped and can occur even after a short, 2 or 3 day course.”

The agency goes on to say, “In most cases, recovery occurs within 4 to 8 weeks of stopping the medication, but striking examples of prolonged jaundice and vanishing bile duct syndrome have been reported after azithromycin use.”

The two cases described by the NIH above involved a 3 day oral administration and a 4 day administration of the antibiotic. This means that essentially these patients were likely not even finished with a single course of the antibiotic before they began showing signs of liver toxicity induce by the drug.

Liver failure is a potential outcome of Zithromax use. While liver failure may not be the outcome in every instance of Zithromax-induced liver injury, it is enough to warrant caution. The NIH states, “Rare instances of acute liver failure and fatality from azithromycin induced liver disease have been reported.”

When the liver failure due to Zithromax is so severe, the only way to treat it is for the patient to undergo a liver transplant. Since the liver is one of the body’s primary methods of detoxification in the body, a person cannot live without a liver and will become toxic.

Filing a Zithromax Adverse Effects Lawsuit

If you have experienced serious side effects from using Zithromax, such as liver failure with or without the need for a liver transplant, kidney failure or other Zithromax adverse effects, you may be eligible to receive legal compensation for your condition. A Zithromax attorney can review your case at no charge and can assist you in assessing your legal options.