Increased risk of acute pancreatitis among tetracycline users in a Swedish population-based case-control study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the suggested association between tetracycline and acute pancreatitis in a large pharmacoepidemiological study.

DESIGN:

The use of tetracycline in relation to the risk of acute pancreatitis was examined in a nationwide case-control study of people aged 40-84 years between 2006 and 2008 in Sweden. The Swedish Patient Register was used to identify 6161 cases of first-episode acute pancreatitis. The Register of the Total Population was used to randomly select 61,637 control subjects from the general population using frequency-based density sampling, matched for age, sex, and calendar year. Tetracycline use was defined as 'current', 'recent', 'past' or 'former' if the drug had been dispensed 0-30 days, 31-180 days, 181-365 days or 1-3½ years before the index date, respectively. The risk of acute pancreatitis was estimated by unconditional logistic regression, providing ORs with 95% CIs, adjusted for potential confounding factors.

RESULTS:

There was a 60% increased risk of acute pancreatitis among current users of tetracycline after adjustment for potential confounders (OR=1.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.1). There was no increased OR for any category of previous use.

CONCLUSION:

Current use of tetracycline is associated with an increased risk of acute pancreatitis, verifying previous case reports.

• Authors: Rickard Ljung, Jesper Lagergren, Tomas S Bexelius, Fredrik Mattsson, Mats Lindblad
• Journal: Gut (Gut) Vol. 61 Issue 6 Pg. 873-6 (Jun 2012) ISSN: 1468-3288 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 21957155 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Tetracycline

Topics

• Acute Disease
• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Anti-Bacterial Agents (adverse effects)
• Case-Control Studies
• Confidence Intervals
• Female
• Humans
• Logistic Models
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Odds Ratio
• Pancreatitis (chemically induced)
• Risk Factors
• Sweden
• Tetracycline (adverse effects)