used for thirty years, fluoroquinolones have a list of sometimes very serious side effects. Despite the restrictions taken by health agencies, the information must be reinforced with health professionals.
by Nathalie Brafman
Joint and muscular pain, risk of photosensitization, cardiac disorders or neuropsychic … On social networks, testimonies on the undesirable effects of fluoroquinolones, antibiotics available for more than thirty years, are multiplying. This is the story of Jean-Marie D., 70 years old. Treaty for a urinary tract infection, this marathon runner complained of lively pain in the two Achilles tendons for months. It is also that of Blandine L .: After six days of treatment, she wakes up with tendonitis, then pain occurs at the knee and elbow. Other patients complain of tachycardia, anxiety or insomnia.
This catalog of undesirable effects sometimes very serious, durable and potentially irreversible, does not only concern France. Throughout Europe, but also in the United States and Canada, patients have mobilized and alerted the health authorities. In these two countries, use restrictions have been implemented in 2016.
It was not until 2019 that the European Medication Agency re-evaluated the risk of these antibiotics and considerably restricting the field of their indications. Completed, the prescriptions to deal with light severity infections such as uncomplicated cystitis in women or to prevent the traveler’s diarrhea. The National Agency for Medicines Safety (ANSM) has regularly relayed these restrictions on healthcare professionals and has enjoined them to inform their patients of risks. She recalled these good practices in October 2022 in a thematic file.
Obviously the message has not completely passed. “The rise in land of our network of correspondents of fifty pharmacists and doctors, in particular, showed that knowledge of the undesirable effects of fluoroquinolones could be reinforced,” recognizes Philippe Vella, director of the drug at the agency. “Among the side effects known since always are tendinopathies or even muscle problems. Other effects, especially cardiacs, have been highlighted more recently and perhaps less disseminated among doctors,” recognizes Olivier Saint-Lary .
In the coming weeks, new “ANSM alert” messages, validated in mid-December by the High Authority for Health, will be disseminated in terms of prescription assistance software for doctors and distribution for pharmacists, reminding them that fluoroquinolones must be reserved for certain bacterial infections for which their use is essential. This is the case of certain urinary tract infections, bones or joints for example. They are also reminded of the possible side effects and the need to inform patients. “A email campaign is also planned and other actions are planned, such as integrating an alert message directly on the drug boxes,” says Philippe Vella.
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