Permanent Taste and Smell Disorders Induced by Clarithromycin:  A Case Report

Nihat Şengeze; Vedat Ali Yürekli; Hasan Rıfat Koyuncuoğlu; Serkan Kırbaş

doi:10.4274/tnd.13284

Nihat Şengeze¹, Vedat Ali Yürekli², Hasan Rıfat Koyuncuoğlu², Serkan Kırbaş³

¹Yalvaç State Hospital, Clinic of Neurology, Isparta, Turkey
²Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Isparta, Turkey
³Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Rize, Turkey

Keywords: Clarithromycin, anosmia, taste disorders

Abstract

Clarithromycin belongs to a group of medications called macrolide antibiotics. Other antibiotics in this group include erythromycin, troleandomycin, roxithromycin, spiramycin and azithromycin. The most common use of antibiotics in this group are mild to moderate infections of skin, soft-tissues, mouth and respiratory tract, caused by gram-positive bacteria. This group of antibiotics are known to have side effects such as nausea, vomiting, heartburn, gastrointestinal discomfort, diarrhea, hives, and other forms of skin rashes, drug-induced fever and anorexia when administered perorally. In this article a case who has permanent loss of smell and taste after the clarithromycin therapy has presented. Drugs that often cause taste and smell dysfunction and mechanisms of action are discussed accompanied by literature. (Turkish Journal of Neurology 2015; 21: 34-6)