• Sonal Singh and Amit Nautiyal.
• Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Mass. Electronic address: Sonal.Singh@umassmemorial.org.
• Am. J. Med. 2017 Dec 1; 130 (12): 14491457.e91449-1457.e9.

BackgroundOur objective was to evaluate the association between fluoroquinolone use and aortic dissection or aortic aneurysm in a systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsWe searched Medline, Embase, and Scopus from inception to February 15, 2017. We selected controlled studies for inclusion if they reported data on aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm associated with fluoroquinolones exposure versus no exposure. Data were extracted by 2 independent reviewers, with disagreements resolved through further discussion. We assessed the quality of studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies and the strength of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. The odds ratios (ORs) from observational studies were pooled using the fixed-effect inverse variance method, and statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic.ResultsAfter a review of 714 citations, we included 2 observational studies in the meta-analysis. Current use of fluoroquinolones was associated with a statistically significantly increased risk of aortic dissection (OR, 2.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.31-3.37; I2 = 0%) and aortic aneurysm (OR, 2.25; 95% CI, 2.03-2.49; I2 = 0%) in a fixed-effects meta-analysis. The unadjusted OR estimates and sensitivity analysis using a random-effects model showed similar results. We rated the strength of evidence to be of moderate quality. The number needed to treat to harm for aortic aneurysm for elderly patients aged more than 65 years who were current users of fluoroquinolones was estimated to be 618 (95% CI, 518-749).ConclusionsEvidence from a small number of studies suggests that exposure to fluoroquinolones is consistently associated with a small but significantly increased risk of aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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