TUESDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Penicillin use is associated with double the risk of developing pemphigus variant, according to the results of a study published in the June issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
Anthony D. Heymann, M.B., M.S., from Maccabi Healthcare Services in Tel Aviv, Israel, and colleagues examined medications associated with 363 patients with pemphigus over a five-year study period and 150,000 controls. The patients were identified from a database of 1.5 million patients from a health maintenance organization.
The researchers found that a purchase of penicillin in the previous six months increased the risk of pemphigus twofold (odds ratio, 2.03). The risk increased from 1.84 for one purchase to 3.02 for three or more purchases. There were no increased risks associated with the other drugs examined.
"This study suggests that there is an association between penicillin exposure and the diagnosis of pemphigus variants," Heymann and colleagues conclude.
Abstract
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