Clarithromycin-induced haemorrhagic colitis.

Haemorrhagic colitis by Klebsiella oxytoca has been described as an antibiotic-associated colitis, particularly with the use of ampicillin. Here we report a patient with haemorrhagic colitis caused by K oxytoca after the use of clarithromycin. A 67-year-old Japanese woman with diabetes presented with mucobloody diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Stool culture grew K oxytoca. Colonoscopy showed the appearance of haemorrhagic colitis. Further history taking revealed that she had received a course of oral clarithromycin for upper respiratory tract infection. She had recovered by conservative treatment. We should be careful about gastrointestinal symptoms in patients on clarithromycin, which can cause haemorrhagic colitis associated with K oxytoca.