Post by beebs on May 13, 2012 17:23:22 GMT -5
Reports of changes and fluctuations in
visual acuity is significant, in the
absence of retinal detachment. Not
come across such studies. The article
below discusses retinal detachment.
Fluoroquinolones Linked to Retinal Detachments
Laird Harrison
April 3, 2012 — Fluoroquinolones may increase the risk for retinal detachment, researchers report in an article published in the April 4 issue of JAMA.
The authors, led by Mahyar Etminan, PharmD, from the Therapeutic Evaluation Unit, Child and Family Research Institute of British Columbia, and the Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, found that 3.3% of 4384 patients with retinal detachments were taking fluoroquinolones, a common antibiotic, compared with only 0.6% of 43,840 matched control patients.
Practitioners should be aware of the potential connection when patients who are taking fluoroquinolones report changes in visual acuity, coauthor David Maberley, MD, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of British Columbia, told Medscape Medical News.
"If this association is now in the back of physicians' minds, any minor change would be of more interest," he said, adding that more research was needed to confirm the finding.
Catching retinal detachment, a potentially disabling condition, early can make it much easier to treat, Dr. Maberley pointed out.
The researchers decided to investigate the connection between fluoroquinolones and retinal detachment after stumbling across some articles showing that the antibiotics affected collagen synthesis. Among other findings, fluoroquinolones have been linked to tendon rupture.
Because collagen synthesis is important in retinal detachment, Dr. Maberley wanted to know whether the antibiotics increased patients' risk for this condition.
The researchers used the British Columbia Linked Health Database, a comprehensive database on residents of British Columbia, all of whom are covered by the province's government healthcare plan. From this database, they selected patients who had visited ophthalmologists between January 2000 and December 2007. For each patient with retinal detachment, the researchers selected 10 control patients of the same age and then noted what percentage of each group had prescriptions for fluoroquinolones.
Cont/...www.medscape.com/viewarticle/761435?sssdmh=dm1.773187&src=nldne
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/761435?sssdmh=dm1.773187&src=nldne