Fluoroquinolones - Antibiotics for UTIs and Respiratory Infections

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What are fluoroquinolones used for?

Fluoroquinolones may also be used to treat unusual infections such as anthrax or plague. Doctors may also decide to use them for other types of infection when other alternative treatment options have failed or cannot be used. Are fluoroquinolones safe?

Are fluoroquinolones effective antimicrobials?

This topic last updated: May 15, 2023. Fluoroquinolones are highly effective antibiotics with many advantageous pharmacokinetic properties including high oral bioavailability, large volume of distribution, and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. With widespread use, antimicrobial resistance to fluoroquinolones has grown.

How do fluoroquinolones exert antimicrobial effects?

Fluoroquinolones exert antimicrobial effects by inhibiting bacterial topoisomerases II and IV. Antibiotic resistance arises from mutations in these target enzymes. 1 The adverse effects of fluoroquinolones can be limited by restricting their use to infections that cannot easily be managed with other antibiotics.

What are the side effects of fluoroquinolone?

These effects have been included in a boxed warning, on the product labels, by the US Food and Drug Administration. The reported adverse reactions include agitation tremor, hallucinations, psychosis and convulsions. In Australia, fluoroquinolone prescribing is restricted to infections resistant to all other recommended drugs.

What are fluoroquinolone antibiotics?

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are a group of medicines that kill bacteria and fight infections. Fluoroquinolones antibiotics are important for treating certain infections. Some of these infections can be life threatening. In the UK, fluoroquinolones are ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and ofloxacin.

When should fluoroquinolones be used?

Fluoroquinolones are often used for genitourinary infections and are widely used in the treatment of hospital-acquired infections associated with urinary catheters. In community-acquired infections, they are recommended only when risk factors for multidrug resistance are present or after other antibiotic regimens have failed.

How do fluoroquinolones work?

Fluoroquinolones work by interfering with DNA inside bacteria, resulting in death of the bacteria. Sepsis and Septic Shock Sepsis is a serious bodywide response to bacteremia or another infection plus malfunction or failure of an essential system in the body. Septic shock is life-threatening low blood pressure ... read more

What Is Fluoroquinolones

1. https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/quinolones.html
2. https://www.rxlist.com/how_do_fluoroquinolones_work/drug-class.htm
3. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/infectious-diseases/bacteria-and-antibacterial-drugs/fluoroquinolones
4. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/fluoroquinolones
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinolone_antibiotic
6. https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/infections/antibiotics/fluoroquinolones
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547840/

Fluoroquinolones Information

1. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/fluoroquinolone-antimicrobial-drugs-information
2. https://australianprescriber.tg.org.au/articles/fluoroquinolone-antibiotics-and-adverse-events.html
3. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c9364c6e5274a48edb9a9fa/FQ-patient-sheet-final.pdf