A health scandal and new complaints to come ? A patient association files a complaint for “unintentional injuries” And “aggravated deception” against doctors and against X. The reason? For four years, more than six million unjustified prescriptions of fluoroquinolones would have been carried out without authorisation, even though this family of antibiotics can cause serious side effects. A first complaint had already been filed in October 2022 by Philippe Coville, a patient suffering from severe neuropathies after taking fluoroquinolones in 2021.
Prescribed underserious bacterial infections, fluoroquinolones are marketed under different names: Oflocet, Ciflox or Tavanic. According to the ANSM, “They should only be prescribed after having carefully assessed their benefits against the risks of expected adverse effects, and after having informed the patient”.
They can indeed be responsible for serious, long-lasting, disabling and potentially irreversible adverse effects such as:
- Nervous system damage (peripheral neuropathies);
- Neuropsychiatric disorders;
- A condition of the musculoskeletal system (pain and swelling in the joints, inflammation of the tendons, weakness in the muscles).
Very rare cardiac adverse effects were also analyzed in 2018 and 2020 and encouraged the European Medicines Agency (EMA)”to restrict their therapeutic indications and update their job security profile”.
Prescribed in the context of simple cystitis
Despite this clarification, some doctors have continued to prescribe them for generally trivial and harmless infections such as cystitis, otitis or even sinusitis. This is why a dozen patients are taking legal action and claimingopening of an investigation to enforce the responsibility of the health authorities. They estimate “not having been informed both of the off-label prescription of the antibiotic which was delivered to them but also of the adverse effects which they began to suffer from after their consumption”, the lawyers said. “The safety messages should have been repeated. It’s called risk management,” adds Philippe Coville.
Contacted by France infothe Ministry of Health ensures that a warning message has been sent to pharmacies and that the recommendation of the HAS “is being adjusted so that fluoroquinolones are no longer prescribed in simple cystitis in men as is already planned in simple cystitis in women”.
Sources:
- Health: a patient association denounces “six million poisonings in France in four years” by fluoroquinolones, France infoMarch 13, 2023
- Thematic file fluoroquinolonesANSM
