Drugs like Avelox, Cipro, and Levaquin generally come with the risk of a number of antibiotic side effects.

However, recent studies suggest that these medications may also be linked with aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection problems.

In the flouroquinolone family, Avelox, Levaquin, and Cipro are some of the most popular antibiotic medications in use across the country. Millions of Americans use these drugs to treat infections from bronchitis to urinary tract infections.

Although popular, prescribing physicians and patients should be aware of the serious antibiotic side effects that may plague patients taking these medications, and consider whether the drugs may be more dangerous than some of the conditions they are meant to treat.

According to recent studies, Avelox, Levaquin, and Cipro may increase a patient’s risk of aortic aneurysm as well as aortic dissection problems.

After reports began coming in about the serious conditions linked with fluoroquinolone drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration held an advisory hearing to determine the extent of these problems.

Some fluoroquinolone side effects that have been reported include heart complications, tendon ruptures, retinal detachments, and debilitating nerve damage.

The FDA subsequently issued a drug safety warning about these antibiotic side effects, and recommended that the drugs not be used to treat uncomplicated infections.

The FDA advised that, because of antibiotic side effects associated with this kind of medication, it is generally too dangerous to use these drugs to treat conditions that have safer alternative treatments available.

Aortic Aneurysm and Aortic Dissection

Recent data adds that patients who take fluoroquinolone drugs are also at risk of suffering from an aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection.

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in October 2015 showed that current users of fluoroquinolone drugs have a substantially increased risk of suffering from either an aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection.

What is An Aortic Aneurysm?

An aortic aneurysm is a serious and painful complication in which the aorta bulges as the artery’s walls weaken. This often causes chest pain, and has the added risk of a potential rupture.

An aortic dissection is a similar complication, involving the layers of the aorta breaking down, and is potentially more dangerous than an aortic aneurysm. Both of these antibiotic side effects, however, are serious and usually require surgery.

Antibiotic Side Effects Lawsuits

Fluoroquinolone drugs like Levaquin, Avelox, and Cipro have been targeted in an ever-increasing number of antibiotic side effects litigation.

These lawsuits claim that the drugs caused serious or debilitating injuries, and that drug manufacturers failed to give the public and the medical community adequate warning about these potentially serious antibiotic side effects.

Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain of serious antibiotic side effects, but it can help to compensate for financial expenses incurred by medical bills and lost wages.

If you or someone you love were prescribed one of these fluoroquinolone drugs, and were later diagnosed with a serious antibiotic side effect such as an aortic aneurysm or dissection, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturers.