Hypoglycemia-induced anoxic brain injury possibly associated with levofloxacin

Accepted 24 August 2005.

Summary

Reports linking alterations in blood glucose concentrations with fluoroquinolones, mostly gatifloxacin and ciprofloxacin, have been published. We describe an elderly, non-diabetic patient with steroid-induced hyperglycemia prescribed glyburide who later developed severe hypoglycemia resulting in anoxic brain injury soon after initiating therapy with levofloxacin.

Keywords: Fluoroquinolones, Hypoglycemia, Glyburide

a Department of Pharmacy and Division of Infectious Disease and Geographic Medicine, Tufts-New England Medical Center, 750 Washington Street, P.O. Box 420, Boston, MA 02111, USA

b Department of Pharmacy, Tufts-New England Medical Center, 750 Washington Street, P.O. Box 420, Boston, MA 02111, USA

c Department of Medicine, Tufts-New England Medical Center, 750 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 617 636 3280; fax: +1 617 636 5638.

1 Tel.: +1 617 636 8378; fax: +1 617 636 4567.

PII: S0163-4453(05)00257-4

doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2005.08.024

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