Fluoroquinolone is an antibiotic drug used to treat respiratory and urinary tract infections. The prolonged use of fluoroquinolone is, however, associated with the rupture of the aorta and the risk of medical conditions like aortic aneurysm and dissection. This study aims to investigate the increased risk of aortic aneurysm or dissection associated with the use of oral fluoroquinolone.
This is a nationwide historical cohort study that included a total of 360,088 treatment episodes of fluoroquinolone use and an identical number of comparator episodes of amoxicillin. The primary outcome of the study was hazard ratios of aortic aneurysm and dissection estimated using Cox regression.
In the risk period of 60 days, the rate of aortic aneurysm or dissection was 1.2 per 1,000 person-years among fluoroquinolone users, compared with 0.7 cases per 1000 person-years in amoxicillin users. The use of fluoroquinolone resulted in a higher risk of aortic aneurysm or dissection (HR 1.66). The hazard ratios for aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection with fluoroquinolone use were 1.90 and 0.93, respectively.
The research concluded that the use of fluoroquinolone was strongly associated with an increased risk of aortic aneurysm or dissection, with the risk being higher for aortic aneurysm.
Ref: https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k678
