A DRUG WARNING WORTH YOUR FULL ATTENTION

With wider use of these antibiotics comes increasingly serious problems: s FDA Panel Says Fluoroquinolones Need Stronger Warnings Before you get turned off by the the technical names, think of antibiotics that end in “-floxacin such as: ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), moxifloxacin(Avelox), ofloxacin(Floxin), and gemifloxacin(Factive). The FDA's Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee (ADMAC) and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee met jointly to discuss the use of this group of antibiotics drugs for treatment of bacterial infections. Labeling currently has warnings about the risks for tendon inflammation or rupture, brain effects, nerve damage, paralysis, heart rhythm problems, and sensitivity to light. Panel members called for stronger wording, with some suggesting the risks be called out with a black box warning.