Antibiotics Cause Tendon Injuries

January 2008

If you’ve taken Cipro and Levaquin, be aware that you may experience tendon injuries as a result of these antibiotics. Public Citizen, a consumer group that petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add tendon warnings to Cipro and Levaquin in 1996, now wants the strongest boxed warning possible on these drugs to warn about their serious tendon risks.

Public Citizen has filed a lawsuit against the FDA in hopes of forcing them to cover Cipro and Levaquin with a black box warning label that notes the increased tendency of tendon injury. Cipro and Levaquin – both brand name versions of the antibiotics class known as fluoroquinolones – currently carry warning labels that mention the increased risk of tendon injury deep within a list of other adverse reactions.

From November 2007 to December 2005, the FDA received 794 reports that linked fluoroquinolones to tendon injury. Public Citizen feels that the current labels do not adequately warn patients about the risks of tendonitis, tendon ruptures, and other tendon disorders caused by the antibiotics Cipro and Levaquin.