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Cough - acute with chest signs in children - Management
What specific issues should I consider before prescribing macrolides for children?
- There are several clinically important drug interactions with erythromycin and clarithromycin.
- Possible enhanced effect of theophylline and carbamazepine (due to cytochrome P450 enzyme inhibition). Check levels of these drugs if adverse effects occur or worsen.
- The risk of significant interactions is probably smaller with clarithromycin than with erythromycin, but is still present.
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