Occurrence of Drug Eruption following Tigecycline Treatment in a Japanese Patient

Abstract

Tigecycline (TGC) is a glycylcycline antibiotic that arises from the cooperation of the t-butylglycylamido in position 9 of minocycline and is used to treat various bacterial infections. Side effects such as rash, itching, and other severe drug eruption have all been reported outside of Japan; however, symptomatic treatment of Japanese patients with TGC-related drug eruption is not well studied. Here, we present the first report on the symptomatic treatment of drug eruption in a TGC-treated Japanese patient. A man in his 70s with liver abscess, caused by metallo-β-lactamase producing Escherichia coli, was treated with TGC. On day 10 post-treatment, erythema accompanied by itching occurred on the back, precordium, cervix, and upper limb. As the irritation could be TGC-related, the treatment was discontinued and replaced with injectable hydrocortisone, oral fexofenadine, and topical corticosteroids. Following the symptomatic treatment, symptoms of erythema and itching showed improvement. This case report described the occurrence of drug eruption in a Japanese patient following TGC treatment was observed in Japanese patients as well, and discontinuing the TGC treatment and providing symptomatic treatment might be an effective therapy in such cases. In addition, the drug eruption caused by TGC improved at a much slower rate after discontinuing the respective treatments.