Fluoroquinolones are associated with increased risk for both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia among patients with diabetes, compared with other antibiotics, according to a study in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Researchers in Taiwan used national insurance claims data to identify roughly 78,000 outpatients with diabetes who received a new prescription for an oral antibiotic.
Within 30 days of starting the antibiotic, patients taking moxifloxacin, levofloxacin, or ciprofloxacin had 1.75 to 2.48 times the risk for hyperglycemia-related emergency department visits or hospitalizations, relative to patients taking macrolides. Risks were similarly elevated for episodes of hypoglycemia. Moxifloxacin was associated with the highest risk for dysglycemia.
The authors conclude: “Clinicians should consider these risks when treating patients with diabetes and prescribe fluoroquinolones cautiously.”
ARYAN'S BLOG 