The FDA has said that some antibiotics can result in painful and deadly damage to the main artery of the body. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics increase the chances of aortic dissection and the high risk groups should be careful with respect to these antibiotics.
According to the U.S. FDA, fluoroquinolone antibiotics can increase the chances of occurrence of rare but serious events of breakage/tears in the main artery called aorta. FDA said that these aortic dissections can cause dangerous bleeding which can eventually cause death.
Fluoroquinolone must not be used in patients who have higher risk. These must be used only if no other treatment option is available. Those who have had blockages, high blood pressure, aneurysms of the aorta, are at increased risk.
The FDA said that new risk guidance will be provided with prescribing information and labels for fluoroquinolone drugs. FDA warns that these dangerous drugs should be used only when required as they can cause other side effects related to joints, tendons [1], nerves, muscles, joints and Centeral Nervous System.
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Doctors and medical staff should not prescribe it to someone who have high aortic aneurysm or have more chances of hypertension, peripheral atherosclerotic vascular diseases, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Marfan syndrome etc,. These patients must be provided this course of treatment only when no other option is available. Patients can call on 911 incase a person sees symptoms appearing like sudden pain in chest, stomach or back [2]
Patients who have hypertension and aneurysm oir heart disease should inform their doctors before taking medicines/antibiotics.
The main cause of aortic dissections is high blood pressure. In this the inner layer of the aorta tears away from the middle wall. The commonly used antibiotics are fluoroquinolones. This includes ciprofloxacin,levofloxacin, gemifloxacin and moxifloxacin. These are used in the treatment of urinary tract infection and upper respiratory tract infection.
The symptoms of aortic aneurysm are not presented until aneurysm becomes large and bursts so if you suspect any unusual side effects upon taking this class of drug, speak to your health care professional.
So fluoroquinolone presents risk of potentially disabling and permanent side effects including vision problems, permanent nerve damage, rupturing of tendons, suicidal thoughts among many others [3]. So FDA has issued a drug safety warning. The FDA has asked for the changes to the labeling and the section on “Warnings and Precautions” to show its strongest safety warning and also encourages patients to read the Medication Guide to understand the benefits and risks of taking the medication.
The FDA has warned the healthcare providers that these drugs should not be used for the treatment of acute bacterial sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, bacterial exacerbation, urinary tract infections as the complications outweigh the benefits. FDA says that these must be used only for life threatening conditions like plague, anthrax, pneumonia and other infections for which there is no available treatment option.
The FDA recommends that you must stop using these antibiotics if you notice these side effects and inform your health care provider. Side effects may be seen in days or weeks of consumption. Some patients say that side effects disappear once the medicine is stopped. But some patients report side effects that last for as long as 14 months to 9 years.