Ever since its approval in 1992, Zithromax (azithromycin) has become one of America’s most popular and most widely-prescribed antibiotic treatments in the country. Despite the many years it has been of service to the medical community, many patients have complained it causes severe Zithromax side effects like liver toxicity, cardiac attacks, and Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS).

The FDA approved Zithromax to treat a wide range of infections including: ears, lungs, pneumonia, and other internal organs. This antibiotic has proven to be a successful venture for Pfizer Inc., as it garnered approximately $35 million in profit for manufacturing company in 2012. Before the release of its generic variations of this drug, Zithromax raked in billions in sales. According to experts, Zithromax’s popularity stems from its short prescription requirement and fast-acting treatment mechanism. However, azithromycin’s  popularity has proven to have several complications including a higher likelihood for severe Zithromax side effects and decreased drug effectiveness due to overprescription.

Zithromax belongs to the macrolides drug class, in which each of these medication treat infections is preventing the reproduction of the bacteria itself. Essentially, Zithromax attacks the proteins that are vital to the bacteria’s growth, and by stopping the production of new bacteria cells the old ones will eventually die out. This has proven to be a very effective system, as Zithromax only requires five days to treat a patient, whereas standard antibiotic treatment usually requires a 10-day regimen of other antibiotics. It is this factor that this has allowed the drug to become the first choice of many children and adults alike.

However, this popularity circles back to the number of injury reports that indicate this drug causes a number of problems, like Zithromax Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Stevens Johnson Syndrome is an extremely rare allergic reaction, which is specifically caused by an adverse reaction to a medication. It is famously characterized by the red or purple skin lesions it leaves on the body, which cause the infected areas to attach and slide off. Due to the nature of this condition, patients are oftentimes treated in the burn unit of hospitals, as skin grafts may be needed to facilitate the healing process. There are approximately 300 cases of Stevens Johnson Syndrome diagnosed per year in the United States, with many of them being from antibiotics like Zithromax.

Overview of Zithromax SJS Complications

For Zithromax in particular, the medical research site eHealthMe had recently conducted a study to see how likely Stevens Johnson Syndrome was to occur as a Zithromax side effect. There were 10,949 subjects who submitted injury reports, with a small portion of them reporting Zithromax SJS. Most of these subject were men who were between the ages of 30 to 39. As of March 01, 2015, 173 (1.58 percent) of the subjects reported Stevens Johnson Syndrome; these reports were collected from the FDA and different social media sources.

Even with these small numbers, medical experts warn that any occurrence of SJS is something to be concerned with because it proves that the drug is capable of inducing that reaction. While there is currently no scientific method to predict which patients will develop SJS, scientists have determined that a significant portion of them come from very common medications; whether it is due to the drug’s popularity biochemistry is not known. However, doctors warn that if patients were to develop SJS then it would begin with flu-like symptoms and would occur within the first two to eight weeks of starting the medication.

Overall, healthcare providers warn prescribing doctors not to automatically prescribe Zithromax if it is not needed. Due to the fact that it may be overly prescribed, experts fear that it is losing its treatment prowess and is giving bacteria the opportunity to evolve into resistant strains. Additionally, it has been reported that Zithromax has been prescribed to treat viral infections simply because it has become somewhat of a default reaction to physicians. This perspective needs to change not only for the sake of the drug’s reputation, but also for the sake of the patients who may be at risk of developing Stevens Johnson Syndrome as a Zithromax side effect.