A Rare but Serious Side Effect of Levofloxacin
Hypoglycemia in a geriatric patient
- Mehmet Kanbay, MD1,
- Timucin Aydogan, MD2,
- Rifat Bozalan, MD2,
- Ayse Isik, MD2,
- Burak Uz, MD2,
- Arif Kaya, MD2 and
- Ali Akcay, MD1
- 1Department of Nephrology, Fatih University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
- 2Department of Internal Medicine, Fatih University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
- Address correspondence to Mehmet Kanbay, MD, 35 sokak 81/5 Oktay Apt., Bahcelievler, Ankara, Turkey. E-mail: drkanbay{at}yahoo.com
Drugs should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of hypoglycemia. Fluoroquinolones have rarely been associated with hypoglycemia (1,2). Levofloxacine, which belongs to the fluoroquinolone group of antibiotics, has previously been reported to cause hypoglycemia in only one patient who was also receiving oral antidiabetic drugs (2). Herein, we describe an elderly patient with hypoglycemia associated with levofloxacine therapy who did use oral antidiabetic drugs or insulin.
A 64-year-old female with type 2 diabetes treated only by diet was interned for urinary infection and pneumonia. She had no history of malabsorbtion or oral intolerance. The patient’s weight was 84 kg, and she was 157 cm tall (corresponding to a BMI of 34.1 kg/m2). Her current medications included coraspin, omeprazole, and atorvastatin. Cefuroxime 3 × 750 mg/day i.v. was started. During cefuroxime therapy, her blood glucose levels were within normal limits with diet. …
