Fluorquinolone antibiotics, like Avelox, are used extensively in the treatment of various infections, such as common respiratory and urinary tract infections.

Consequently, new research is suggesting that Avelox side effects have also been linked to adverse reactions to drugs, including aortic dissection.

What is Avelox?

Avelox is a fourth-generation synthetic fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent developed by Bayer AG. Fluoroquinolones (or quinolones) are antibiotics that are commonly used to treat a variety of illnesses such as respiratory and urinary tract infections.

These medicines are thought to be one of the most common causes of antibiotic side effects like aortic dissection.

Part of the problem is that quinolone antibiotics, like Avelox, are often reportedly inappropriately prescribed. Instead of being reserved for use against serious, perhaps life-threatening bacterial infections like hospital-acquired pneumonia,

Avelox is frequently prescribed for sinusitis, bronchitis, earaches and other ailments that may resolve on their own or can be treated with less potent drugs or nondrug remedies.

Furthermore, pharmaceutical manufacturers are allegedly aware of the risks associated with Avelox side effects and other antibiotic drugs, yet proper warnings are for the most part inadequate.

Avelox Side Effects: Aortic Dissection

In late 2015, two studies published in reputable medical journals linked fluoroquinolone antibiotic use with the possibility of aortic dissection or aortic aneurysm. These conditions are life-threatening and without prompt intervention can lead to death.

The two studies, published in BMJ Open and JAMA Internal Medicine, note past research that suggests the mechanism for the risk of tendon injury occurring with use of fluoroquinolones may include “degradation,” or deterioration, of type I and type III collagen.

The aorta is also made up of these kinds of collagen, leading the authors to suggest that fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Avelox may be associated not only with the rupture of tendons, especially the Achilles, but also aortic dissection and aneurysm.

One of these new research studies published in JAMA Internal Medicine comprised of people who experienced aortic aneurysm or dissection and matched controls, found current fluoroquinolone use to be associated with a significantly more than doubled rate of aortic aneurysm or dissection.

The significantly increased rate held when fluoroquinolones like Avelox had been used within the year prior to the aortic dissection or aortic aneurysm.

An aortic dissection involves the tearing of the inner layer of the aorta. The aorta is the main artery in the body, which carries oxygenated blood from the heart so that blood may be distributed throughout the body.

If the aorta tears, blood can flow through the tear, causing, as described by the Mayo Clinic, “the inner and middle layers of the aorta to dissect. If the blood-filled channel ruptures through the outside aortic wall, aortic dissection is often fatal.”

Avelox Lawsuits

Millions of patients place their trust in drug companies every day when they ingest medications designed to heal or abate their various symptoms. But on occasion, severe antibiotic side effects occurs. Aortic dissection is a rare, but life-threatening reaction that has been noted in response to Avelox side effects.

Many patients who have developed antibiotic reactions such as aortic dissection by Avelox side effects or other quinolone antibiotics have filed Avelox lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturers in an attempt to gain justice for themselves or their loved one’s injuries.