Piperacillin-tazobactam-induced myocardial injury with heart failure: A case report

Piperacillin-tazobactam is a clinically used antibiotic consisting of the semisynthetic penicillin piperacillin and the beta-lactamase inhibitor tazobactam. Piperacillin-tazobactam is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used clinically to treat infections caused by gram-positive and gram-negative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The most common adverse reactions are gastrointestinal symptoms and skin reactions. There have been a few reported cases of possible drug hypersensitivity, with thrombocytopenia as the most commonly observed adverse event. The present article reported a rare case of myocardial injury with heart failure following treatment of pneumonia with piperacillin-tazobactam in a 75-year-old female patient. Specifically, this patient presented with fever, chills, flushing and tachypnea, in addition to elevated leukocyte, neutrophil, cardiac enzyme and brain natriuretic peptide levels. This patient also presented with a mild ST-segment elevation on the electrocardiogram following piperacillin-tazobactam treatment. Improvements in the aforementioned adverse reactions were observed and the underlying infection didn't come back following the discontinuation of piperacillin-tazobactam treatment. Therefore, the present observations suggest that piperacillin-tazobactam may have induced myocardial injury and heart failure. Possible occurrence of similar adverse reactions in the heart should be considered before choosing piperacillin-tazobactam as treatment in clinical practice.