Health Canada: Levaquin Should Not be Used in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis
Health Canada has issued a warning that people who have myasthenia gravis should avoid using Levaquin and other similar antibiotics because they are believed to make the condition much worse.
While Health Canada does admit that the chances of worsening myasthenia gravis are rare in Levaquin patients, it is serious and has the potential to cause patients to suffer from breathing difficulties and weakness in the muscles. Fluoroquinolones like Levaquin are generally used as a treatment for various infections including sinusitis, but the drugs are also linked to severe adverse side effects, including tendon ruptures.
Back in 2008, the FDA issued a black box warning, the strongest warning available, against Levaquin and other fluoroquinolone antibiotics because of the risks involved in taking the drugs. Myasthenia gravis is a rare condition that weakens the muscles in places like the eyes, face, throat and neck. Health Canada announced earlier in the week that the makers of fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Levaquin should update the labels on the drugs to reflect the new warnings against patients with myasthenia gravis.
Health Canada says that the risks to myasthenia gravis patients seems to most apply to the patients who take the antibiotic in liquid form or extended release tablet form. Levaquin has long been linked to tendon ruptures and thousands of patients have filed lawsuits against the makers of the drug amid claims that they failed to properly warn them about the real risks involved.
Only three of the lawsuits filed have seen the inside of a courtroom so far. Two of the cases were ruled in favor of the defendants, but one man, John Schedin, won his claim. The defendants tried to have the decision reversed on appeal, but the judge upheld the original ruling.
