Women over age 60 who take the flouroquinolone antibiotic Ofloxacin are at greatest risk of developing the severe, and often fatal, skin condition known as Stevens Johnson Syndrome, according to new research.

The risk of developing Quinolone SJS is greatest during the first month of fluroquinolone antibiotic treatment, according to eHealth, which cites the results of a study involving 3,267 people who reported side effects when taking ofloxacin antibiotics.

Among the participants, 115 people (about  3.52 percent) suffered from Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a life-threatening skin condition in which cell death causes the epidermis to painfully separate from the dermis.

Of the 115 people who manifested Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, 73.68 percent began showing signs of the disease after taking ofloxacin for less than a month. Of these Ofloxacin SJS victims, 47.54 percent were 60 years of age or older and 54.33 percent were female, meaning that those most at risk of developing Ofloxacin SJS are women over the age of 60.

Ofloxacin Quinolone Antibiotic SJS Case

Ofloxacin (also known as Floxin and Ocuflox Ophthalmic) is used to treat a wide variety of infections, including: chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections, nongonococcal urethritis and cervicitis, mixed infections of the urethra and cervix, acute pelvic inflammatory disease, uncomplicated cystitis, complicated urinary tract infections, prostatitis and acute, uncomplicated urethral and cervical gonorrhea.

Recently, Acta Dermato-Venereologica (an international peer-reviewed journal for clinical and experimental research in the field of dermatology and venereology) reviewed the case of a 29-year-old woman who came down with Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, an even deadlier form of Stevens Johnson Syndrome, after taking ofloxacin antibiotic treatment for 10 days.

She presented at a local hospital with a skin rash on her face, hands, and feet with a fever of 101.3 degrees. Her lips and mouth also showed signs of skin infection.

Initially diagnosed with hand-foot-mouth disease and prescribed another antibiotic, the woman’s skin lesions rapidly spread and her body began to shed layers of skin.

She was transferred to another hospital, where she was immediately diagnosed with TEN. More than 80 percent of her body was ultimately covered in the painful and deadly rash. The woman survived, though many quinolone SJS and TEN patients are not so likely and die from the damage and trauma sustained by the body.

Quinolone SJS Side Effects

Stevens Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis are skin conditions that both begin with flulike symptoms – fever, fatigue and sore throat – with the patient quickly developing lesions and ulcers around the mouth, lips, genital, and anal regions followed by rashes covering the body.

The rashes appear like burns and open sores, resulting in skin sloughing off in large swaths from the victim’s body. Painful blisters also develop on the mucous membranes, such as those covering the eyes, nose, mouth and genitals. SJS patients have also reported experiencing joint and muscle pain and a sensation that their body is burning while suffering from this quinolone side effect.

SJS becomes TEN when burns cover over 30 percent of the patient’s body, at which point the top layer of skin (the epidermis) detaches from the body, including the mucous membranes, such as the mouth, eyes, and vagina.

Up to 40 percent of people who suffer TEN die from complications associated with the painful disease. SJS and TEN survivors may experience lifelong health problems such as a secondary skin infection (cellulitis), sepsis (a blood infection), blindness, internal organ damage, and even permanent skin damage.

Fluoroquinolones, the class of drugs which includes ofloxacin, are the most commonly prescribed class of antibiotics in the United States with tens of millions of prescriptions written each year, making the news of quinolone SJS a serious matter for patients and physicians alike.