Fluoroquinolones, or quinolones, are a group of antibiotics that are one of the most widely requested types of antibiotics in the country. Lomefloxacin, also known as Maxaquin, is a type of quinolone antibiotic that is allegedly linked to liver toxicity.

For lomefloxacin, liver failure has been raised in numerous cases of patients who had used the drug for their urinary tract infections, as it is used to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs) prior to surgery.

Brand name lomefloxacin, Maxaquin, was originally developed by Pfizer and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 16, 2005, to treat long-term bacterial infections. Despite being a popular product among patients, Maxaquin is no longer available in the United States.

Currently, one of the most commonly reported lomefloxacin side effects is liver toxicity. Liver damage is not exclusive to lomefloxacin or other quinolone antibiotics, for a wide variety of medications can cause such a side effect.

Medical experts believe it is linked to the patient’s metabolic process of the medication, which induces the reaction in some cases.

Quinolones are steadily becoming the most commonly named antibiotic group in liver damage injury reports filed with the FDA, causing great concern to the medical community.

Quinolone Liver Damage

Quinolone antibiotics have had the American medical community concerned over liver toxicity for years, stemming from June 1999. In that year, the FDA issue a public health warning stating that certain quinolone drugs could increase the chances of liver damage.

From the 1997 to 2010, 2,500 quinolone deaths were reported to the FDA’s Adverse Events Reporting System (AERS), with an additional 45,000 injury reports submitted during that time.

In one study conducted by Canadian researchers, several cases of quinolone liver damage were found in a population of elderly patients. The purpose of this study was to observe the side effects of commonly used quinolone drugs, and if there was a greater likelihood of acute liver damage.

According to the authors, 2.86 million quinolone cases were observed and 172 patients were admitted to the hospital for liver damage, with most of them having to be readmitted for residual side effects.

While lomefloxacin was not used in this study, medical experts point out that lesser used quinolones may also carry the same side effects due to being a part of the same pharmaceutical family.

To note, the authors point out that their study did not conclusively prove that quinolones cause liver damage. Their patient population was limited, only showing that quinolone liver damage was possible in elderly patients.

Lomefloxacin Quinolone Lawsuits

More than 2,000 patients have filed quinolone lawsuits, regarding quinolones and liver damage. Legal analysts expect this list to keep growing.

The quinolone liver damage lawsuits are similar in the fact that they allege patients experienced acute liver damage because they took a fluoroquinolone antibiotic.