Levaquin Side Effects Still Dangerous



Posted: Sunday, August 30, 2009

by Katie Kelley
LegalView

Though hundreds of cases have documented the severity of potential side effects, the prescription antibiotic known as Levaquin continues to be an option for many physicians as well as many dubious online pharmacies. Headlines reporting the possibility of tendon rupture as one of the most serious Levaquin side effects do not seem to deter patients or their doctors. Neither does the FDA Black Box warning label, the strongest warning the FDA can give a medication.

Levaquin (chemical name:levofloxacin) is an antibiotic agent used to treat serious and potentially life threatening infections. Approved in 1996, the medication had been widely prescribed for conditions such as treating bacterial infections of the skin, sinuses, kidneys, bladder, or prostate, as well as a other infections resulting from complications with diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Levaquin has also been used as an antibiotic agent in cases where an infection has built up a resistance to traditional antibiotics, though many medical journals have suggested that continued broad usage of Levaquin could increase the number of bacteria resistant to the medication.

Levaquin and a similar medication known as Cipro are both in the same classification of medicines, a group of medicines called quinolones. The potential adverse effects of drugs are serious and should not be taken lightly, despite these medications having been generally regarded as safe in the past. Though different versions of the medications can cause different side effects, the medication in question, Levaquin, has been shown to carry a high probability to cause a condition known as tendon toxicity. Both short and long term treatment with fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as Levaquin may cause tendon matrix alteration that can lead to a high chance of tendon rupture, especially in the Achilles tendon, the largest and strongest tendon in the body. Though the risk is not limited to the Achilles tendon, it is the most likely to be involved in a tendon rupture episode, especially in those patients over over 60 or taking an oral steroid medication.

Beginning in 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began issuing warning on possible tendon ruptures in patients taking Levaquin. In 2004, the warning changed to reflect the fact that tendons other than the Achilles may rupture and that tendon rupture could occur either during or after therapy. Yet cases continued to arise against the medication; in 2007, a litany of side effects and conditions resulting from interactions with the medicine were listed, including acute renal(kidney) failure, hepatitis, muscle injury (including rupture), suicide attempts and vision disturbances. Evidence continued to accrue between 2007 and on into 2008, pointing toward serious complications in patients taking Levaquin.

The FDA decided to give Levaquin its strongest warning, the Black Box label, in October 2008. Most recently, the FDA has said that Levaquin, "poses a serious and significant public health concern." Currently, there are several cases pending before state courts as well as many class action lawsuits. Individuals who have had their life altered by Levaquin side effects could be entitled to compensation; pursuing a Levaquin class action lawsuit by contacting an experienced personal injury attorney could provide an individual with access to valuable legal recourse.

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Visit one of the Flouroquinolone family drug sites, such as Levqauin at http://levaquin.legalview.com/. There you can find access to a levaquin class action suit or a levaquin attorney.
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