Warning: Tendon Rupture Caused by Some Antibiotics

Warning: Tendon Rupture Caused by Some Antibiotics

Imagine taking an antibiotic like Tequin or Cipro for a bad bacterial infection and then getting tendonitis or a tendon rupture as a side effect. Scary. The Public Citizen consumer watchdog organization filed a petition with the FDA to warn people about this critical side effect.

Between November 1997 and the end of December 2005, 794 cases of fluoroquinolone-associated tendon rupture, tendonitis and other tendon disorders were reported to the FDA. Of those, 175 cases of tendon rupture occurred between 2003 and 2005. According to FDA estimates, these cases may make up only about 10 percent of all adverse events related to the use of these antibiotics.

To help protect the public, Public Citizen feels the FDA should add a black box warning, the strongest type of warning the FDA can request, to the professional product labels (package inserts) of all fluoroquinolone antibiotics, alerting health professionals about the risks of using the drugs. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics currently marketed in the United States include but are not limited to Tequin, Cipro, and Levaquin. (Worst Pills)