The list of injuries linked with fluoroquinolone associated disability seems to grow every day. Fluoroquinolones are a frequently-prescribed broad spectrum antibiotic mostly used to treat respiratory and urinary infections.
When the issue of fluoroquinolone associated disability was first raised, complaints centered mostly on peripheral neuropathy; or, stated more simply, nerve damage. Patients experiencing nerve damage as a result of fluoroquinolone associated disability endure shooting pain throughout their extremities, as well as burning sensations, tingling, numbness, weakness, and sensitivity to touch or temperature.
This fluoroquinolone-associated injury is, however, just the beginning of a long – and growing – list.
Tendon Damage and Rupture
Before fluoroquinolone associated disability even had a name, the antibiotics had developed a reputation for damaging patients’ tendons. 2008 saw the introduction of a black box warning for FLQs indicating that patients taking the medications could experience a higher likelihood of tendon damage and rupture.
Heart Rhythm Complications
Citing heart rhythm issues in some patients, Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog and advocacy group, has also called on the FDA to issue a black box warning for fluoroquinolones.
Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection
A study of over 1.7 million older adults showed a three-times increase in the incidence of aortic aneurysm in those who had taken fluoroquinolones like Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, and Factive.
The aorta is the main artery in your body. If you think of your body’s blood vessels as a highway system, the aorta is that main entrance ramp that everything else has to use to get their trip started. Aortic aneurysms occur when a section of the aorta becomes stretched and weakened. Over time, that weakened aortic wall can rupture, leading to severe internal bleeding and, in many cases, a fairly rapid death.
Aortic dissection can be thought of as the opening stages of that rupture. As the layers of the aorta bulge and fill with blood, the outer wall can separate and then fail. If the dissection isn’t stopped or immediately treated, a full aortic dissection is usually fatal. 20% of those suffering an aortic dissection will die before they even reach the hospital.
Fluoroquinolone associated disability is a condition with a long, difficult to spell, and difficult to pronounce name. The health risks, however, warrant an understanding of what all of these terms mean and how they can affect you. No matter the name you use; whether you ask about FLQs, fluoroquinolone toxicity, or FQAD (fluoroquinolone associated disability), please bring any side effects to your doctor’s attention if you are taking antibiotics such as Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, and Factive.
If you experienced side effects like the ones we’ve described while taking a course of antibiotics in the past, a knowledgeable legal team like the one at Lopez McHugh can examine your medical records and determine whether fluoroquinolone associated disability could have been to blame.
