A review of cases of antibiotic-associated encephalopathy, which can result in confusion, delirium and hallucinations for some patients, found the link between antibiotics and these symptoms to be much more common than previously thought. The findings are published in Neurology.
The authors divided the symptoms of antibiotic-associated encephalopathy into three types of symptoms, including seizures, psychosis and cerebellar signs and MRI abnormalities, and determined their occurrence across 292 reports of 391 patients, according to Forbes.
In 47 percent of cases, patients experienced hallucinations or delusions in relatively short order, with seizures also occurring in 14 percent of cases within days of antibiotic administration. Cerebellar signs and MRI abnormalities took weeks to manifest and were only associated with one type of antibiotic — metronidazole. Hallucinations were most commonly associated with sulfonamides, quinolones, macrolides and penicillin procaine.
Shamik Bhattacharyya, MD, lead author of the study, told MedicalNewsToday that the link between these conditions and antibiotics had been known for sometime, although most patients won't experience them.
"The link has actually been recognized for decades, starting from the widespread use of penicillin in the mid-20th century," Dr. Bhattacharyya told MNT. "However, this issue has not been thoroughly investigated partly because the phenomenon is under-recognized by physicians in hospitals and in the community."
More articles on infection control:
What can hospitals do to take a stand against antibiotic resistance? Inside the University of Chicago Medical Center's stewardship program
Behavioral 'nudges' help reduce antibiotic prescription among physicians
Azithromycin may help prevent infections after C-sections, research suggests