Levofloxacin Use in Children: What Are the Musculoskeletal Risks?

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are widely used in adults due to their broad spectrum of activity and long half-life. However, because preclinical animal studies suggested cartilage toxicity, use of these agents has not been encouraged in children. Subsequent trials involving children with meningitis, otitis media, or complicated urinary tract infection did not demonstrate any increase in musculoskeletal adverse events during short-term follow-up.

Now, researchers (funded by the manufacturer of levofloxacin) have conducted a long-term follow-up study involving a subset of children who had previously been enrolled in one of three trials comparing levofloxacin with a non-fluoroquinolone antibiotic and had participated in a 12-month postexposure sa…