Gastrointestinal disease acute pancreatitis

Adverse reactions. Erythromycin is remarkably nontoxic, but the estolate can cause cholestatic hepatitis with abdominal pain and fever which may be confused with viral hepatitis, acute cholecystitis or acute pancreatitis. This is probably an allergy, and recovery is usual but the estolate should not be given to a patient with liver disease. Other allergies are rare. Gastrointestinal disturbances occur frequently (up to 28%), particularly diarrhoea and nausea, but, with the antibacterial spectrum being narrower than with tetracycline, opportunistic infection is less troublesome. 

Plasma albumin concentration is decreased in the presence of hepatic cirrhosis, liver abscess, acute pancreatitis, gastrointestinal disease, the nephrotic syndrome and chronic renal failure. Hypoalbuminaemia is a characteristic of neonatal animals, apart from foals, whereas the plasma concentration of cq-acid glycoprotein is markedly elevated in newborn piglets. Hyperbilirubinaemia could further decrease the albumin binding capacity of acidic drugs and some basic drugs in neonatal animals. 

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