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US Doctors Warn: ‘Life-Threatening’ Side Effects of Common Antibiotic
Millions of Americans take the antibiotic Bactrim daily, but doctors warn of rare, life-threatening side effects, including severe lung damage. Recent cases highlight the need for awareness and further research into its risks.

United States: Millions of Americans take the antibiotic daily while doctors throughout the nation warn of a number of deaths and severe reactions.
The medication Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole, known by its commercial name Bactrim, serves as a treatment for mild chest infections and bacteria and acne, affecting approximately 3 million Americans.
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Twelve-year-old Emmie Bellucci in Texas received Bactrim twice as a treatment for cystic acne last year.
The extreme reaction harmed her lungs to the point where they shut down completely. She remains in the hospital after spending five months breathing through a tracheostomy that serves as her windpipe’s breathing support system.
Medical experts from Bactrim report that the medication induces an immune system response, which produces harm to lung tissue, ultimately resulting in respiratory failure when administered to young patients like Emmie.
Specialists who examine this exceptional side effect want more study of Bactrim’s long-term weaknesses alongside testing for danger markers before medical practitioners acknowledge its properties.
Doctors' warning over killer antibiotic taken by millions that causes organ failure https://t.co/F5H1CsflFO pic.twitter.com/kvgbo90j27
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) January 24, 2025
According to Dr. Jennifer Goldman, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, “These are good drugs, and this is a very rare condition, but it’s not commonly known and needs to be, and There’s a window of opportunity to avert serious complications,” Daily Mail reported.
Multiple doctors started investigating the potential side effects of Bactrim treatment in 2018 following Zei Uwadia’s unexpected lung condition that led to failure.
News coverage about Zei Conn’s story led Children’s Mercy Kansas City doctors to start receiving reports from teenage patients who faced the same medical symptoms.
Dr. Goldman and Dr. Jenna Miller from Children’s Mercy Kansas City issued a report in 2021 to document acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) cases that manifested as significant respiratory distress after Bactrim administration among 14 children and young adults.
Around 200,000 Americans experience this medical condition each year, which creates breathing oxygen diffusion problems in the lungs and causes bloodstream oxygen transport failure.
The report showed three out of ten patients passed away from the condition, and twenty percent needed lung transplant surgeries.
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