J Antimicrob Chemother

Study probes fluoroquinolones’ seizure risk

September 18, 2024

Incidence of fluoroquinolone (FQ)-associated seizures among hospitalized patients was low and didn’t significantly exceed that of macrolides.

• This retrospective observational study included patients admitted to a large academic medical center who were treated with FQs (ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin) or macrolides (MAs: azithromycin or roxithromycin) between January 2009 and January 2021. Primary outcome was occurrence of a seizure during treatment. The Naranjo scale was used to assess causality between FQ treatment and seizures.
• A total of 52,722 patients (mean age, 65 years; 47% female) were treated with FQs over the course of 178,982 days. Incidence of seizure was 0.06% (1:5422 treatment days). Causality was deemed probable and possible among 9/33 and 24/33, respectively. A total of 8522 patients (mean age, 65 years, 49% female) were treated with MAs during 17,954 treatment days. Seizure incidence was 0.07%. The inverse probability weighting-estimated odds ratio for seizures among FQ vs. MA recipients was 1.44 (95% CI, 0.59–3.5, P = 0.42).

Source:

Gueta I, et al. (2024, August 2). J Antimicrob Chemother. Fluoroquinolones and the risk for incidental seizures: a comparative retrospective study. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39090969/