Cardiac Risks With Antibiotics Azithromycin, Levofloxacin Supported by VA Data
Data from a large cohort of patients enrolled at US Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers support recent conclusions that treatment with the antibiotic azithromycin (Zithromax/Zmax, Pfizer) significantly increases the risk of death and cardiac arrhythmia in the first five days of treatment.
In addition, investigators showed the antibiotic levofloxacin (Levaquin, Janssen Pharmaceuticals) was associated with a significantly increased risk of death and cardiac arrhythmia when compared with patients treated with amoxicillin.
“Like all medications, clinicians should remember that the uses of antibiotics are not free of serious adverse events,” lead author Dr Gowtham Rao (University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC) told heartwire . “For every patient, we should weigh the risks and benefits of antibacterial therapies and promote patients to be part of a shared decision making.”
As the researchers also point out in their paper, which is published March 10, 2014 in the Annals of Family Medicine, there are other antibiotic options for patients, especially if the patient is older or may have cardiac comorbidities.
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