New Study Links Antibiotics Levaquin and Cipro to Double-Vision Side Effects

Levaquin and Cipro, two leading brands of antibiotics that belong to a class of drugs called fluoroquinolones, have been associated with increased risks of painful tendon ruptures, tendinitis, liver damage, and other severe complications. The Food and Drug Administration has ordered the drugs to carry stern warnings about the risks on their packaging.

Now, university researchers say people taking the drugs to treat urinary tract infections and a variety of other types of infections and medical conditions may also suffer from double vision.

Researchers at the Casey Eye Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland examined hundreds of reports of eye problems from people taking the drugs from 1986 to 2009. They found 171 reports of double vision, a condition also called diplopia, including 76 cases in men and 91 cases in women, according to a recent Los Angeles Times blog.

Of those cases, 75 patients were taking Cipro (ciprofloxacin) and 20 were taking Levaquin (levofloxacin), according to the study. Other brands of fluoroquinolones, such as Avelox, Noroxin, Tequin, and Floxin, also were associated with reports of double vision.

Researchers said all fluoroquinolone brands, not just Cipro and Levaquin, appear to carry the same risk of double vision. However, Cipro and Levaquin are the best-known brands of the class of drugs. Some fluoroquinolones — gatifloxacin, grepafloxacin, temafloxacin, trovafloxacin and alatrofloxacin – have been pulled from the market because of concerns about tendon injuries and other serious side effects.

The good news is, the double vision symptoms appear to be reversible. In 53 reported cases where the antibiotic treatment was stopped, the patients’ vision quickly returned to normal, the researchers said. However, in five of those cases where the patient started taking the drug again, the vision problems returned.

Researchers said they don’t know why the use of Cipro, Levaquin, and other fluoroquinolones causes double vision, but they theorize the drugs may affect the tendons which control the eyes and interfere with the ability to focus properly.

No related posts.