Commonly used antibiotics with diuretic can double risk of sudden death in older patients

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-02/cmaj-cua012815.php

Public Release: 2-Feb-2015
Canadian Medical Association Journal

The combination of the commonly prescribed antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole with the diuretic spironolactone, widely used for heart failure, more than doubles the risk of death for older patients, reports a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is frequently prescribed for urinary tract infections, with more than 20 million prescriptions written every year in the United States for a variety of infections. Spironolactone is effective for heart failure, but it can raise blood potassium to potentially life-threatening levels in some patients.

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