Study On Veterans Reveals Increased Risk of Death with Zithromax

Recent findings that treatment with the antibiotic Zithromax (azythromycin) can significantly increase the risk of death and cardiac arrhythmia in the first five days is now supported by data from patients enrolled at the U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers.

According to the VA data, researchers studied 979,380 patients who were prescribed amoxicillin, 594,792 who were prescribed azithromycin, and 201,798 who took levofloxacin.

“Like all medications, clinicians should remember that the uses of antibiotics are not free of serious adverse events. For every patient, we should weigh the risks and benefits of antibacterial therapies and promote patients to be part of a shared decision making,” said Dr. Gowtham Rao of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and lead author of the study.

The study also found that the antibiotic levofloxacin (Levaquin) also comes with a greater risk of both cardiac arrhythmia and death compared to those who took amoxicillin

According to Dr. Scott Strayer of the University of South Carolina, these findings are important because these drugs are often overprescribed, even in cases when an illness does not require antibiotics.

“If we assumed that 50 percent of the 40 million outpatient prescriptions of azithromycin written in 2011 were unnecessary, then based on the data, it may be reasonable to estimate 4,560 deaths were caused by this antibiotic,” Dr. Strayer said.

The VA data revealed that veterans who were prescribed with azithromycin had a 48 percent higher risk of death and 77 percent greater risk of cardiac arrhythmias during the first five days of treatment compared with patients who took amoxicillin.

And those who took levoflaxacin also had an increased risk of death and cardiac arrhythmia in any of the 10 days patients took the antibiotic, although the risk was greater in the first five days, with death and arrhythmia 149 percent and 143 percent greater in those first five days and 95 percent and 75 percent greater from day six to day 10, when compared to those who took amoxicillin.

The research concluded that “when taken in context of the traditional duration of drug treatment and the most common duration of antibiotic dispensed in our cohort, support the hypothesis of short-term increased risk during the dispensation cycle of the drug — for example, for azithromycin five days, for levofloxacin at least 10 days—when compared with amoxicillin.”

Families who lost a loved one due to a Z-Pak  or Zithromax induced heart attack, Stevens Johnson Syndrome or other lethal side effect may be eligible to file a Zithromax wrongful death lawsuit.

In addition, spouses of those afflicted with Z-Pak side effects may be able to sue for “loss of consortium” which roughly translates to the loss of intimacy with their spouse due to the Zithromax side effects. Recent Zithromax lawsuits listed spouses of Z-Pak victims as co-plaintiffs.

Join a Free Zithromax Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of a Zithromax/Z-Pak injury such as a heart attack, liver damage, or Stevens Johnson Syndrome, you have legal options. See if you qualify to join a free Zithromax class action lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation for you or your loved one’s injuries:

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