In August of 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Drug Safety Communication to inform the public of potential side effects of antibiotics from the quinolone family.

Specifically, the statement was intended to alert the public that quinolone antibiotics were linked to a type of nerve damage.

Quinolone antibiotics include a number of compounds developed in the 1970s. Quinolone antibiotics were the first all-synthetic family of antibiotics. Prior to the quinolone antibiotics, all antibiotics were either naturally occurring compounds harvested from bacteria or fungi or derived from such compounds.

Quinolone antibiotics had their genesis in a chemist’s laboratory, and it was hoped that the synthetic nature of quinolone antibiotics would mean that bacteria wouldn’t be able to adapt to them and develop antibiotic resistance. While this has not proven the case, quinolone antibiotics have demonstrated themselves to be effective enough to enjoy widespread use in the medical field. But according to the FDA, they carry a risk of serious side effects.

The Drug Safety Communication advised patients and medical professionals to look for the signs of peripheral neuropathy if they were taking quinolone antibiotics. Peripheral neuropathy is a type of nerve damage in the extremities. As nerves falter and die, patients may experience numbness, tingling, burning, pain, in their fingers, toes, hands and feet. Extreme cases may also include arms and legs. Additionally, peripheral neuropathy could cause odd temperature sensations and weakness in the afflicted body parts.

The FDA’s announcement stated that the damage could be permanent, or at the very least long-term after ceasing treatment. The symptoms could start at any time during treatment. For example, the problems were not more likely to occur at the beginning or end of treatment. The same risks were seen with quinolone antibiotics administered by injection or oral tablet. The FDA could not identify any specific risk factors that made a person more likely to experience peripheral neuropathy from quinolone antibiotics.

The FDA’s advisory states that if a patient experiences these symptoms, doctors should move the patient onto another antibiotic, unless there were specific benefits from the quinolones over other antibiotics. However, patients were advised to talk to their doctor immediately if they experience the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, though patients were not advised to stop taking their medication without consulting a physician. In fact, this point was specifically emphasized. The FDA’s new warnings were also included in the drug safety information included with quinolone antibiotics. This included drugs like Levaquin, Cipro, and Avelox.