Avelox Plaintiff Wins, Others Report Side Effects

November 29, 2010, 8:00AM. By Gordon Gibb

Washington, DCA 35-year-old plaintiff was awarded $203,614 for pain and suffering over an adverse reaction to the avelox antibiotic, the November 1 issue of Personal Injury Verdict Reviews reports. The lawsuit alleged that following a prescription for Avelox to treat sinusitis, the plaintiff suffered tendon damage to her hips.

While the defendant denied liability in the case, the plaintiff—who was not named in the summary—alleged that the tendon damage to her hip from the Avelox tendonitis not only affected her quality of life, but also led to emotional distress.

Recent posts to medications.com appear to support the concern with regard to Avelox, which is a fluoroquinolone and the subject of much concern over the tendency of fluoroquinolones to negatively impact tendons, including Avelox Achilles' tendon—not to mention other Avelox adverse reactions.

"I am a female, 59 years old and have a mild stress fracture on the top of my left foot," writes one woman to medications.com. "I also have been diagnosed with a bronchial infection. My Dr. [sic] prescribed Avelox for the infection and after one day I had severe pain in my foot as if I have had a gout attack in the foot."

While one respondent noted no ill effects after taking Avelox for three days, another respondent reported low-grade headaches for all five days of the Avelox regimen. "Today is the 6th day and the headache is finally gone. Also by the 4th day, my kidneys started hurting and on the 5th day I was in extreme pain. Urination went down and hard to empty my bladder. I am drinking Green Tea, Ginger and Raspberry to flush this out. The abdominal pains started on the second day, like gastritis, which got worse with each day on the meds. The 5 days are over and I am feeling so much better."

And here's another…

"I was prescribed Avelox for a sinus infection. I was prescribed to take this daily for 28 days. On day 12, I was woken up in the middle of the night due to extreme numbness and burning in my hand. It was unbearable. I called the MD the next morning and told him. He said that what I was experiencing was neuropathy and to stop the med. Today is day two not taking the medication and I continue to have numbness and pain not only in my hands but in my feet. This is a terrible adverse side effect and I do not understand why this [medication] is on the market…"

Avelox adverse reactions continue to be a frustration for many. The antibiotic was mandated for a black box warning in 2008 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), two years after being petitioned for same by the consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen.