July 15, 2010 – Antibiotics commonly prescribed for urinary or respiratory tract infections (Septra® or Bactrim®)1 present a health hazard to the elderly by causing excess potassium in the blood (hyperkalaemia).
This is what the results of a study indicate2 epidemiological research conducted by Ontario researchers alerted to cases of hyperkalaemia in elderly patients.
According to pharmacist Jean-Yves Dionne, the problem discovered by researchers is serious. “The symptoms of hyperkalemia can easily go unnoticed: muscle twitching, fatigue, nausea, slight tingling around the edges, etc. But the consequences are very serious and often even fatal, since a person with hyperkalemia is at very high cardiovascular risk. “
He also points out that the elderly are particularly vulnerable to physiological electrolyte imbalances. Like sodium and chlorine, potassium is an electrolyte which, in the body, allows the transmission of nerve impulses. In this specific case, it would be an excess of potassium constituting an undesirable effect caused by the antibiotic in question which would oppose the normal elimination of this electrolyte.
The authors of the study emphasize that treatment with Septra or Bactrim should systematically be accompanied by tests aimed at measuring the blood levels of potassium in order to prevent hyperkalaemia.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
1. These antibiotics combine trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole.
2. Weir MA, Juurlink DN, Gomes T et al. Beta-Blockers, Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole, and the Risk of Hyperkalemia Requiring Hospitalization in the Elderly: A Nested Case-Control Study. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010 Jul 1.
