Quinolone- and fluoroquinolone-containing medicinal products

• Fluoroquinolone medicines (which contain ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, lomefloxacin, moxifloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, pefloxacin, prulifloxacin and rufloxacin) can cause long-lasting, disabling and potentially permanent side effects involving tendons, muscles, joints and the nervous system.
• These serious side effects include inflamed or torn tendon, muscle pain or weakness, and joint pain or swelling, walking difficulty, feeling pins and needles, burning pain, tiredness, depression, problems with memory, sleeping, vision and hearing, and altered taste and smell.
• Tendon swelling and injury may occur within 2 days of starting treatment with a fluoroquinolone but may even occur several months after stopping treatment.
• Stop taking a fluoroquinolone medicine and contact your doctor at once in the following cases:
  • at the first sign of tendon injury, such as tendon pain or swelling – rest the painful area;
  • if you get pain, feel pins and needles, tingling, tickling, numbness or burning, or weakness especially in the legs or arms;
  • if you get swelling in the shoulder, arms or legs, have walking difficulty, feel tired or depressed or have problems with your memory or with sleeping or you notice changes with your vision, taste, smell or hearing. You and your doctor will decide if you can continue treatment or if you need to take another type of antibiotic.
• You may be more prone to joint pain or swelling or tendon damage if you are aged over 60 years, your kidneys do not work well or you have received organ transplantation.
• Speak with your doctor if you are taking a corticosteroid (medicines such as hydrocortisone and prednisolone) or need to have treatment with a corticosteroid. You may be especially prone to tendon damage if you are taking a corticosteroid and a fluoroquinolone medicine at the same time.
• You should not take a fluoroquinolone medicine if you have ever had a serious side effect with a fluoroquinolone or a quinolone medicine and you should speak with your doctor immediately.
• If you have any questions or concerns about your medicines, speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

• Fluoroquinolones are associated with prolonged (up to months or years), serious, disabling and potentially irreversible drug reactions affecting several, sometimes multiple, systems, organ classes and senses.
• The serious side effects include tendonitis, tendon rupture, arthralgia, pain in extremities, gait disturbance, neuropathies associated with paraesthesia, depression, fatigue, memory impairment, sleep disorders, and impaired hearing, vision, taste and smell.
• Tendon damage (especially to Achilles tendon but also other tendons) can occur within 48 hours of starting fluoroquinolone treatment but the damage may be delayed several months after stopping treatment.
• Patients who are older, have renal impairment or have had solid organ transplantation and those being treated with a corticosteroid are at higher risk of tendon damage. Concomitant treatment with a fluoroquinolone and a corticosteroid should be avoided.
• Fluoroquinolone treatment should be discontinued at the first sign of tendon pain or inflammation and patients should be advised to stop treatment with a fluoroquinolone and speak with the doctor in case of symptoms of neuropathy such as pain, burning, tingling, numbness or weakness so as to prevent development of potentially irreversible condition.
• Fluoroquinolones should generally not be used in patients who have had serious adverse reactions associated with the use of quinolone or fluoroquinolone medicines.
• Up-to-date summary of product characteristics should be consulted for authorised indications when considering treatment with a fluoroquinolone medicine. This is because the indications for these medicines have been restricted.
• The benefits and risks of fluoroquinolones will be monitored continuously and a drug utilisation study will evaluate the effectiveness of the new measures to reduce inappropriate use of fluoroquinolones by investigating changes in prescribing behaviour. 

Fluoroquinolones and quinolones are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics that are active against bacteria of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive classes. Fluoroquinolones are of value in certain infections, including some life-threatening ones, where alternative antibiotics are not sufficiently effective.

The review covered medicines containing the following fluoroquinolone and quinolone antibiotics: cinoxacin, ciprofloxacin, flumequine, levofloxacin, lomefloxacin, moxifloxacin, nalidixic acid, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, pefloxacin, pipemidic acid, prulifloxacin and rufloxacin.

The review concerned only medicines given systemically (by mouth or injection) and inhaled medicines.

The review of fluoroquinolones and quinolones was initiated on 9 February 2017 at the request of the German medicines authority (BfArM), under Article 31 of Directive 2001/83/EC.

The review was first carried out by the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), the Committee responsible for the evaluation of safety issues for human medicines.

The final PRAC recommendations were adopted on 4 October 2018 and then sent to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), responsible for questions concerning medicines for human use, which adopted the Agency’s opinion. The CHMP opinion will now be forwarded to the European Commission, which will issue a final legally binding decision applicable in all EU Member States.