FDA Warns About Cipro, Other Antibiotics

[OhioChick]

Source: AP

Drug, Others Increase Risks Of Ruptured Tendons, Agency Says

POSTED: 3:27 pm EDT July 8, 2008
UPDATED: 3:41 pm EDT July 8, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Drug safety officials Tuesday imposed the government's most urgent safety warning on Cipro and similar antibiotics, citing evidence that they may lead to tendon ruptures, a serious injury that can leave patients incapacitated and needing extensive surgery.

The Food and Drug Administration ordered makers of flouroquinolone drugs - a potent class of antibacterials - to add a prominent "black box" warning to their products and develop new literature for patients emphasizing the risks.

Tendon ruptures are normally thought of as sports injuries, generally occurring usually among men in their mid-thirties. The link to treatment with the antibiotics is highly unusual, and scientists still don't fully understand why it happens. However, FDA officials stressed that many of the serious injuries appear to be preventable if patients stop taking the drug at the first sign of pain or swelling in a tendon, call their doctor, and switch to another antibiotic.

The two leading drugs covered by the warning are Cipro, made by Bayer, and Levaquin, which is made by Ortho-McNeil. Cipro became a household name during the anthrax attacks of 2001. It is effective against that deadly bacteria, and is among the medications stockpiled by the government in case of a bio-terror attack. In everyday medicine, Cipro is often used to treat urinary tract infections. Levaquin is generally used to treat respiratory infections.

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/health/16822221/detail.html

[kestrel91316]

1. There are NO antibiotics without potentially serious side effects.

Heck, there are NO DRUGS without potentially serious side effects. We always need to look at the statistical risk of those side effects in making treatment choices, and we never would choose to use a drug that was riskier than not treating the disease in question.

I use in my feline patients an antibiotic in the same class as Ciprofloxacin, also made by Bayer: Baytril (enrofloxacin). It is, IMHO, a GREAT drug that has saved many a patient of mine. However, it carries the known risk of potential BLINDNESS (permanent and complete). The reason I still happily prescribe this drug almost daily is because we also know that the greatest risk of blindness comes from once-a-day dosing rather than twice-a-day, and at the higher end of the dose range. So all my patients are on a twice-a-day regimen and I stay away from the high end (mg/lb body wt). I have never had a patient go blind in the over ten years I have been using it.

Just a little realistic perspective from the trenches.

Also, pay close attention to this tidbit:
"....FDA officials stressed that many of the serious injuries appear to be preventable if patients stop taking the drug at the first sign of pain or swelling in a tendon, call their doctor, and switch to another antibiotic....". Those who will no doubt be screeching for the drugs to be pulled off the market probably won't read this far.

[Fovea]

2. When I was exposed to meningiococcus

The infection control person on my shift came down and told me that the antibiotic they were about to give me killed 1 in 10k patients by exploding their red blood cells, but not to worry, because I'd know before shift change if I was going to die or not.

[Lifetimedem]

4. LOL

Sounds like the med suggested for me by a specialist . She said it had no side effects EXCEPT in some people they lose the ability to breath .

I passed on that one :)

[Indenturedebtor]

5. Gah. Glad to hear you got over the meningococcus

Have to take the good with the bad sometimes I suppose.

I know that antibiotics have personally saved my life a few times. If I have to take Cipro I'll take my chances of needing surgery further down the line. Better that than death by Bacteria!

[Fovea]

13. Luckily, the shot

of Rifampin prevented it, and did not lyse my red blood cells into fatal pernicious anemia.

If they had, of course, all my problems would have been over.

[Lifetimedem]

3. Exactly !

There is virtually no medication we put in our system that is without side effects.

The question needs to be one of risk/benefit .

Cipro is an excellent antibiotic , to dump it for something like this is just overreach

This is the same organization that can not trace the source of recent food poisoning cases that had more victims than this med.

[Paula Sims]

16. Quick question about Baytril

I have to have my cat on Baytril (she's 6lbs, 13 years old, and giving her .65cc's daily subcutaneously) for an upper respiratory infection that turned out to be psudomonis. My vet seems to think the dose is OK. Second guess?????

Thanks

Paula

[uppityperson]

28. Trust your vet, not a bunch of anonymous posters on a public forum

That's my advice. Or call another vet and ask them.

[newfie11]

29. get a second opinion from another vet

They are like docs some are really good and some are really really bad.

[ms liberty]

6. Lovely. I saw this post just as I was swallowing my next-to-last dose of Cipro...

to prevent a UTI after having my kidney stone removed. I won't be doing any exercises for a few days, that's for sure!

[truthisfreedom]

7. Remember how the White House officials were all on Cipro after the attacks?

Remember how w's knee blew out?

[kirby]

8. You are confused...

W's knee blowout coincided with his visit to Saudi Arabia... n/t

[Thor_MN]

15. I seem to recall that *'s knee went out not long after dipshit tried to hop on the turned off Segway

Moron supposedly managed to avoid doing a faceplant, but his head was definately lower than his ass in the photo. He had to have stressed it badly in running out that fall.

I'm sure that the republics see that picture differently, but we know the difference. The real reason * quit golf was on his proctologist's advice. Apparently * doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

[MetaTrope]

20. This does not mean the president should stop taking Cipro

[HannibalBarca]

9. I'm a pharmacist and had thought

that tendon ruptures were relatively uncommon with quinolones, I'd be more worried about their epileptogenic properties in patients prone to seizures. Quinolones are still quite commonly used especially for urinary tract infections, sinusitis and a variety of other indications. As others on the thread have specified there is *no* drug without adverse effects, unfortunately, due mostly to the fact the people are so unique and some are still rather non-specific in their mechanisms of action.

[Maat]

11. Thanks for your input. I think that ..

you have just reminded us that each patient needs to carefully balance the pros and the cons, in consultation with their doctor, PRIOR to taking the meds.

[HannibalBarca]

12. Precisely

You need to be very careful taking any meds and this is especially true when you are on complex regimens and have co-morbidities e.g. as I mentioned epileptic and are prescribed fluroquinolones or asthmatic and are prescribed beta blockers etc....thankfully these are rare instances.

[Maat]

24. Thank you for your service!

:patriot:

[medeak]

17. consultation with pharmacist

have found md's are clueless re drug side effects and interactions and more impressed with the short skirts the reps walk in with. (used to be a whore for md's giving out treats and sexing it up)

[HannibalBarca]

19. Well there is some truth to what you say

I will not disparage my fellow medical professionals, they (for the most part) do great jobs but just don't get the level of intensive pharmacological education we do, pharmacists are invaluable source of info as well as guardians against inappropriate prescribing.

[medeak]

21. if there are more drug reps in waiting room than patients

there's your sign... ;-)

edited to say...rarely had to sit in waiting room...always whisked into back room

[NewEnglandGirl]

25. You have a good point

If I am asking questions about a disease process I will ask a doctor. But if I need info on a drug I would only ask a pharmacist. They are the experts on the meds.

[appleannie1]

31. A pharmacist picked up that my 3 year old grandson had been

prescribed an adult dose that would have killed him. Thank God for good pharmacists that care.

[Maat]

23. You are quite right ...

I always talk things over with the pharmacist. Information, contrary to certain relatives' opinion, is a GOOD thing.

[OhioChick]

18. I had a shitty doctor who put me on it

Years ago...while knowing that I exercised daily. He never told me a damn thing.

The maker knew of this YEARS ago.....

[Maat]

22. Of course they knew ... (n/t). Sorry about your experience.

[OhioChick]

27. I always go to my pharmacist

for inquiries about meds anymore. They know a hell of a lot more than doctors. :thumbsup:

[Maat]

30. Yep!

:thumbsup:

[MsKandice01]

10. I was on Cipro 10 months ago for a pseudomonas infection...

And even then, I read about the possibility of tendon rupture...and liver failure and kidney failure and a lot of other pleasantries. But the pseudomonas could have killed me without treatment (and I was in extreme pain) so I took my chances. Cured me right up, no side effects.

[Paula Sims]

14. I just made the connection yesterday

I was on Levaquin last year for a NASTY sinus infection and shortly (like 2 days after the treatment) started having problems with my left ankle (Achilles). I never made the connection until recently when a friend told me she had to drop out of training for the Boston marathon because she hurt her Achilles and read on a runner's web site about the link. After a few MRI's it turns out I have severe tendonosis and micro-tears of the Achilles.

Although I didn't have a full blow-out of my Achilles it hurts so much 13 months later that I wanted to die just this past weekend. This morning I started taking high(er) doses of magnesium and the pain seems to have helped a bit. The tear is not bad enough to require surgery (which would put me in crutches/wheel chair for 6 months) but doc said I'd have to deal with it for about 2-3 years. I'm half way through and it's not fun.

Sad part is, because of my nasal structure and the crap in the air, I'm very prone to bacterial sinus infections and pneumonia. Really stinks to be me.

Paula

[prolesunited]

32. Try treating your underlying allergies more aggressively

I had chronic sinus infections until I started preventing fluid build up in the first place. I use Allegra D-12, which also has a decongestant, generic Flonase and Singulair (I also have asthma.) But what has made the biggest difference is using a Netipot. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rsZeILCedRw&feature=related

It's weird at first, but I have been able to cut my meds by half and still feel even better than before.

Well, this worked for me. Your mileage may vary.

[NewEnglandGirl]

26. I hadn't heard anything about this tendon problem

with the quinolones. Wasn't Floxin taken off the market for seizure problems or is it still being used (does anyone know?)

[undergroundpanther]

33. Effexor

the anti depressant drug it also causes tendon ruptures. Ask my knee, its still fucked up from that shit.Off it now thankfully. My advice DON'T Take Effexor or the antibiotics because tendon ruptures suck.

MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM: Frequent: arthraigia. Infrequent: arthritis, arthrosis, bone pain, bone spurs, bursitis, leg cramps, myasthenia, tenosynovitis. Rare: patholgical fracture, myopathy, osteoporosis, osteoscierosis, planter fasciitis, rheumatoid arthritis, tendon rupture.
http://theeffexoractivist.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1567&highlight=tendon+rupture