Acute Staphylococcal Enterocolitis Complicating Oral Neomycin Therapy in Cirrhosis

THE oral administration of certain poorly absorbed antibiotics is widely accepted as an important measure in the management of the neuropsychiatric complications of severe liver disease. Of these anti-bacterial agents, neomycin has proved the most satisfactory, effectively suppressing intestinal flora with a minimum of undesirable or harmful side effects.1 2 3 Although diarrhea,1 steatorrhea,4 occasional systemic absorption of the drug5 , 6 and mild monilial superinfection2 have occurred in a few cases, to our knowledge no serious complications due to neomycin-resistant organisms have been reported to follow the use of this drug in the treatment of impending or overt hepatic coma.Recently, however, we . . .