A common class of antibiotics – used to treat respiratory and urinary tract infections – may increase a patient’s risk of suffering a serious and potentially permanent form of nerve damage by almost 50 per cent. The risk was higher for men and rose with age and with the length of fluoroquinolone treatment. A peripheral neuropathy diagnosis remained more likely to be diagnosed for up to six months after the fluoroquinolone prescription. “Fluoroquinolones are effective antibiotics but health care professionals should recognise that peripheral neuropathy may rarely occur following fluoroquinolone therapy,” he said. “We observed that treatment with fluoroquinolones could increase the risk of peripheral neuropathy by around 50 per cent and that this risk may last for up to six months following treatment,” he said.

Source: Indian Express May 15, 2019 09:33 UTC