Levaquin and aortic aneurysm or dissection has become a major health concern to the general public and medical community, with injury reports eventually spurring a lawsuit investigation.

Two studies published in 2015 found a correlation between fluorquinolone antibiotics, like Levaquin, and aortic aneurysm and dissection.

One of the most recent studies was conducted by researchers from Karolinska Institute of Stockholm, Lung University, and Statens Serum Institute, which as further alleged a link between fluoroquinolones like Levaquin and aortic aneurysm or dissection.

However, lead researcher Bjorn Pasternak of the Karolinska Institute Department of Medicine state that while there is a correlation, the risk is not as pronounced as indicated by previous studies.

“Our results confirm the findings in the previous studies but suggest that the increased risk is not as pronounced as indicated by those studies,” Pasternak stated, according to Medical News Today.

Overview of Fluoroquinolone Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection

Fluroquinolones have been treating a variety of bacterial infections for generations and are a particularly popular treatment for urinary tract infections (UTIs). These medications can also treat other bacterial ailments including pneumonia, joint and bone infections, soft tissue and skin infections, bacterial gastroenteritis, urethral and gynecological infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, and many others.

Even with the widespread use of these medications, the medical community has become concerned between an alleged correlation between fluoroquinolones and aortic damage. Physicians have advised against over prescribing these medications to prevent the formation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

In 2016, the FDA had approved updates for fluoroquinolone warning labels regarding “disabling and potentially permanent side effects and to limit their use.” This update was spurred from recent longitudinal studies, which linked fluorquinolone use, like Levaquin, to aortic disease.

According to these studies, subjects either experienced aortic aneurysm in which the artery dilates or aortic dissection in which the aorta ruptures, both of which can potentially fatal. The 2015 studies were published in JAMA Medicine and BMJ in November 2015, and found that patients prescribed fluoroquinolones faced up to nearly a 150 percent increased risk of experiencing an aortic aneurysm and dissection.

Previous patients, with the studies describing this group as patients who experienced an aortic event after 60 days of their last ingested fluoroquinolone, had faced a 48 percent increased risk.

While the more recent study conducted by Pasternak and her colleagues indicate the risk is not as significant, patients should still be aware of the correlation researchers found between fluoroquinolones like Levaquin and aortic aneurysm and dissection.

These antibiotics have been linked with tendon ruptures for years, according to the studies, which made researchers suspicious of other complications related to collagen disorders. Researchers found fluoroquinolone treatment may damage the aorta walls, similarly to how tendons are damaged.

Overall, current and past users of fluoroquinolones may be at risk for aortic events. With over 20 million prescriptions written in a year, numerous patients could be at risk. This correlation has recently spurred a class action investigation, reviewing injury reports from fluoroquinolone patients who may have experienced aortic events.

Patients who may have experienced the correlation between Levaquin and aortic aneurysm or dissection, or other fluoroquinolones, may be eligible to participate.