Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2019 Jul 12;20(5):209-212.
doi: 10.1002/jgf2.269. eCollection 2019 Sep.

Asymptomatic ceftriaxone-associated pseudolithiasis

Affiliations
Case Reports

Asymptomatic ceftriaxone-associated pseudolithiasis

Osamu Sasaki et al. J Gen Fam Med. .

Abstract

An 88-year-old woman with a history of meningioma and dementia was admitted with high fever, loss of appetite, and nausea in July. Urinary tract infection was suspected. Computed tomography (CT) showed no significant findings. Urinary findings improved with administration of ceftriaxone. However, high fever appeared on hospital day 28, and CT identified a gallbladder stone without any abdominal symptoms. We considered the possibility of ceftriaxone-associated pseudolithiasis and changed pharmacotherapy to cefmetazole. CT on day 34 showed a reduction in the size of the gallbladder stone. Ceftriaxone-associated pseudolithiasis might arise in the absence of abdominal symptoms, and clinicians should take the patient background and season into account when using this agent.

Keywords: asymptomatic; ceftriaxone; high temperature; pseudolithiasis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A, Abdominal CT on admission shows no gallbladder stone. B, Abdominal CT on hospital day 28 (during ceftriaxone treatment) clearly shows a gallbladder stone (arrowhead). C, CT on hospital day 34 (after discontinuation of ceftriaxone) shows a reduction in size of the gallbladder stone

References

    1. Schaad UB, Tschäeppeler H, Lentze MJ. Transient formation of precipitations in the gallbladder associated with ceftriaxone therapy. Pediatr Infect Dis. 1986;5:708–10. - PubMed
    1. Murata S, Aomatsu T, Yoden A, Tamai H. Fasting and bed rest, even for a relatively short period, are risk factors for ceftriaxone‐associated pseudolitiasis. Pediatr Int. 2015;57:942–6. - PubMed
    1. Park HZ, Lee SP, Schy AL. Ceftriaxone‐associated gallbladder sludge. Identification of calcium‐ceftriaxone salt as a major component of gallbladder precipitate. Gastroenterology. 1991;100:1665–70. - PubMed
    1. Papadopoulou F, Efremidis S, Karyda S, et al. Incidence of ceftriaxone‐associated gallbladder pseudolithiasis. Acta Paediatr. 1999;88:1352–5. - PubMed
    1. Palanduz A, Yalçin I, Tonguç E, et al. Sonographic assessment of ceftriaxone‐associated biliary pseudolithiasis in children. J Clin Ultrasound. 2000;28:166–8. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources