Tigecycline Tango: A Case of Antibiotic-Induced Pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis is a frequent cause of hospitalization, with the most common triggers being alcohol consumption and gallstones. Although the incidence of drug-induced pancreatitis remains low, it is steadily increasing due to the advent of newly discovered broad-spectrum antibiotics targeting multi-drug resistant organisms. Tigecycline, a broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotic derived from the tetracycline class, was approved by the FDA in 2005 for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections, complicated intra-abdominal infections, and community-acquired pneumonia. It has activity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, multi-drug-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Extended Spectrum Beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacter species. However, it was later discovered that tigecycline can cause acute pancreatitis. We present a case of a 27-year-old female patient who was admitted to the emergency department with abdominal pain and was subsequently diagnosed with tigecycline-induced pancreatitis based on the clinical resolution after withdrawal of the drug.