Avelox is part of the group of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones.

With millions of U.S. patients being prescribed fluoroquinolones every year, these drugs are the most widely used type of antibiotics in the U.S.

Also known by its generic name moxifloxacin, Avelox itself is the third most frequently prescribed fluoroquinolone antibiotic in the U.S.

It’s been on the market since first gaining FDA approval in 1999.

Today, it’s used to treat many different kinds of bacterial infections like pneumonia, cellulitis, meningitis,  and infections of the ears and skin.

As time goes by, the medical community becomes increasingly aware of the side effects that can result from fluoroquinolones like Avelox.

Recent reports and studies have linked these drugs to injuries of the aorta that can be suddenly and quickly fatal.

Fluoroquinolones have also been associated with disabling tendon ruptures and peripheral neuropathy, a condition in which nerve damage can lead to paresthesias and chronic pain.

Avelox SJS Syndrome

One of the most potentially damaging conditions associated with Avelox is Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a condition that primarily attacks the skin and mucous membranes.

The trademark symptom of Avelox SJS syndrome is a rash that breaks out over the skin and spreads.

The areas of rash form blisters that enlarge and eventually peel away, exposing the layers of dermis underneath.

With the loss of skin comes the risk of infection. Patients with SJS are at risk for infections of the skin and mucous membranes, as well as pneumonia and septicaemia.

Other complications can include dehydration and malnutrition, acute respiratory distress syndrome, shock, and multiple organ failure.

Avelox SJS syndrome that covers at least 30 percent of the body surface area may be diagnosed as toxic epidermal necrolysis.

These two conditions are now considered variants of the same condition.

Patients with toxic epidermal necrolysis have a higher mortality rate – 30 percent, compared to 10 percent for patients with SJS.

Case Studies in Avelox SJS Syndrome

In 2004, the journal Archives of Dermatology published a case study of what was believed to be the first known case of moxifloxacin-related toxic epidermal necrolysis.

The patient was a 23-year-old woman with no known drug allergies.

After three days of taking Avelox for an upper respiratory infection, she developed skin eruptions over her abdomen in addition to nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and signs of liver failure.

Within a few days, her skin eruptions had spread to cover as much as 40 percent of her body, showing signs that her doctors found were consistent with toxic epidermal necrolysis.

Her liver function continued to decrease, and she died several days later after undergoing a liver transplant.

A later study published in the Korean Journal of Medicine in 2009 details the experience of one patient who developed what appears to have been Avelox SJS syndrome.

The 62-year-old man reported using moxifloxacin for two weeks when he broke out in eruptions all over his body.

His doctors determined his symptoms were compatible with those of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and that this particular episode was thought to be caused by his course of moxifloxacin.