Acute cholecystitis and pancreatitis in a patient with biliary sludge associated with the use of ceftriaxone: a rare but potentially severe complication.

Ceftriaxone may precipitate in the bile leading to the formation of biliary sludge. Biliary complications, even serious ones, have rarely been described in patients treated with this antibiotic. A 71-year-old woman presented to the emergency room with biliary sludge complicated by acute cholecystitis and pancreatitis after 10 days of treatment with ceftriaxone (2 g, 40 mg/kg per day). There had been no evidence of sludge or gallstones on a transabdominal ultrasonography performed 6 months earlier. The patient underwent open cholecystectomy and recovered fully. Ceftriaxone should be kept in mind as a potential cause of biliary sludge. In most cases, resolution of sludge occurs after interruption of ceftriaxone. Young subjects, patients receiving a prolonged course and a daily dose > or = 40 mg/kg, and subjects with impaired gallbladder emptying have a greater risk of ceftriaxone-associated sludge. Cholecystectomy is the definitive therapy for severe complications.