I want to know about the topic "azithromycin toxicity in newborn" and "azithromycin toxicity in lactating women". My uncle's 57 day old child is suffering from severe jaundice. They had come from Kerala, India to Madras for a check up in Vellur hospital here. The doctor asked them not to breast feed the child and later, after an examination, allowed to do that after two days. Now they are back in Kerala, and the doctor who referred them to Vellur hospital wants to know more about this topic, and I will be grateful if you provide me with your valuable comments. Thanks in advance. It will be helpful to people even in the lower class who may not be having internet connection. That's what happening now, in this case.

My heart goes out to your family, and to their doctor in Kerala, who must all have many questions about the little baby's condition.

Azithromycin (Zithromax) is a powerful new antibiotic with few side effects. It is quite effective in the treatment of ear infections, throat infections, tonsillitis, bronchitis, skin infections, and some sexually transmitted diseases. Azithromycin (Zithromax) has become very popular because it is pleasant to take and very convenient (usually used with once daily dosing for 5 days). Fewer than 1% of those taking azithromycin stop taking it because of problems with side effects. Most of these side effects are quite minor, but it has been reported to rarely cause a serious form of jaundice.

This is one of several reasons that azithromycin (along with erythromycin, an older antibiotic in the same class) is not recommended for use in children under 6 months of age when another antibiotic is available. Azithromycin is processed by the body in the liver. The immature livers of infants in the first months of life are less ready to handle this, making the risk of jaundice greater. A two-month old baby is not simply a little adult, but a developing child with unique metabolic capabilities.

Whenever a woman is breast feeding, care should be exercised in taking any medicine. Many medicines are known to enter the breast milk and be harmful to the nursing infant. For many medicines we don't know if they would be harmful or not. As a general rule of thumb, I would not recommend that a nursing mother take any medicine that I wouldn't feel comfortable prescribing to her baby. Azithromycin falls into this category, and I recommend that nursing mothers do not take it during their children's first six months.

The type of jaundice associated with azithromycin toxicity is different from the common type of jaundice seen in newborns. It is called cholestatic jaundice (or conjugated hyperbilirubinemia). This can result from direct damage to the liver or from impairment of the normal flow of bile into the intestines. The doctor should keep in mind that there are over 80 different causes of cholestatic jaundice (heart disease, toxins, infections, pituitary or thyroid problems, metabolic disorders, structural problems, cystic fibrosis, etc.). Even if the mother or baby took azithromycin, these other causes must be considered.

With all types of cholestatic jaundice, a danger is that the impaired liver might not produce enough of the materials needed to prevent bleeding. A blood test called the prothrombin time (PT) should be performed to evaluate this possibility. Also, blood sugar should be measured since many of the causes of cholestatic jaundice can result in dangerously low blood sugar levels with few symptoms.