Levaquin Risks & Side Effects

Although the exact mechanism of how Levaquin causes tendon injury is still being investigated, studies have suggested that Levaquin can degrade tendon cells by causing programmable cell death, and therefore lose their integrity, and easily tear and/or rupture.

The outcome of tendon ruptures, especially in older patients—the population most affected by this adverse reaction, is not favorable. Treatment may include a corticosteroid to decrease inflammation—the very drug that, when combined with a Levaquin, can dramatically increase the risk of a tendon rupture. In the event of a tendon rupture, the extremity is often immobilized through by casting or other device for anywhere between six weeks to six months, and physical therapy is ordered thereafter. Surgery is frequently not recommended in the elderly population due to poor recovery rates. However, even with immobilization for long periods of time and physical therapy, tendons in the elderly rarely fully recover

Levaquin’s disastrous side effects are confirmed by a review of the events in the FDA Adverse Event database from 1997 through 2005. Levaquin alone, showed 1,044 reports of tendon injuries, with 282 reports of tendon rupture. This six year figure for tendon affects associated with Levaquin far surpassed the ten year history of tendon affects from 1985 through 1995 associated with all pre-Levaquin fluoroquinolones.