Fluoroquinolones are the most commonly prescribed class of antibiotics worldwide to treat such issues as urinary tract infections, lower respiratory tract infections, and bronchitis.

Quinolone antibiotics include popular prescription medications such as Levaquin, Avelox, and Ciprofloxin (Cipro) and are thought to be one of the most common causes of peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage.

The first study to raise concerns over the link between quinolone antibiotics and peripheral neuropathy came in 1992, in a letter to the medical journal The Lancet, which outlined a case involving a 37-year-old patient with long-term peripheral neuropathy.

In 2001, another study was published involving an examination of dozens of reports submitted to the FDA’s adverse events reporting program involving reports of peripheral neuropathy among users of fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Levaquin. More than half of the reports examined in the research involved claims of long-term peripheral neuropathy, with about 80 percent of the complaints categorizing the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy as severe.

Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho-McNeill-Janssen subsidiary did add peripheral neuropathy to the Levaquin antibiotic warning label in September 2004. However, in an apparent attempt to minimize any negative impact on the growing sales of the blockbuster antibiotic, the warnings allegedly provided false and misleading information, suggesting that the side effects of peripheral neuropathy were rare and temporary, with nerve symptoms resolving after use of Levaquin was stopped. It has been alleged that the drug makers knew this information was incorrect.

The 2001 study and multiple adverse event reports submitted by users of quinolone antibiotics clearly indicated that many users suffer long-term nerve side effects from quinolone antibiotic use, with symptoms of neuropathy often still present more than a year after last use of the drug.

The Trouble With Quinolone Antibiotics

Avelox, Levaquin and Cipro are often the first medications that physicians choose when their patients are in need of an antibiotic. WebMD noted that approximately 23 million patients obtained a prescription for Avelox, Levaquin or Cipro medication in 2011 alone.

Part of the problem is that quinolone antibiotics are often inappropriately prescribed. Instead of being reserved for use against serious, perhaps life-threatening, bacterial infections like hospital-acquired pneumonia, these antibiotics are frequently prescribed for sinusitis, bronchitis, earaches and other ailments that may resolve on their own or can be treated with less potent drugs or non-drug remedies.

Although studies have found that side effects from antibiotics may cause peripheral neuropathy, many individuals remain unaware that long-lasting pain and nerve problems they suffer may have been caused by use of Levaquin, Cipro or Avelox.