We report four cases of carbamazepine toxicity in children associated with the concurrent administration of erythromycin. They all developed clinical toxicity (ataxia, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting) when erythromycin administration was begun; symptoms disappeared after erythromycin was discontinued. Serum carbamazepine levels were measured before, during, and, in most cases, after the toxic episodes. In all cases, there was a sharp increase in carbamazepine concentration after erythromycin therapy was begun and a rapid fall once erythromycin was discontinued. Our data support the previous suggestion that erythromycin interferes with the liver microsomal metabolism of carbamazepine with a subsequent increase in blood levels of the drug.
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