FDA Advises Restricting Fluoroquinolone Use for Certain Indications

In a new safety warning, the FDA advises that serious side effects associated with fluoroquinolones outweigh benefits for use as first-line agents for treatment of sinusitis, bronchitis, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). These drugs are associated with adverse effects that can occur together and may be serious, disabling, and potentially permanent and can involve tendons, muscles, joints, nerves, and the central nervous system. At the November 2015 joint meeting of the Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory and the Drug Safety Committees, presenters reviewed adverse effects in the literature for fluoroquinolone as well as numerous reports filed with FDA of fluoroquinolone-associated disability, which was often prolonged and debilitat…