The study concludes that in absolute terms, 37 excess cardiac deaths occurred per 1 million treatment courses associated with current use of clarithromycin compared with current penicillin V. Although the absolute risk is small and unlikely to change clinical practice, clarithromycin is one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics; therefore the total number of excess cardiac deaths may be of significance.
An NHS Choices assessment of press reporting of this study and a response from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society are available from the links below.