Short-Term Risk of Aortoiliac Aneurysm or Dissection Associated With Fluoroquinolone Use

Of the 5,946 subjects who presented with incident aortoiliac ruptured aneurysm or dissection during the study period, 86 (median age 70 years; interquartile range: 62 to 80 years; 36% women) had been exposed to fluoroquinolones during the prior 180 days, of which 36 had been exposed during the 30-day risk window preceding the event. Aside from this internal and external consistency, the study we herein report has several strengths, some relating to the data source (drug reimbursements and hospitalization diagnoses and procedures exhaustive recording), and others to the design used, which, to mitigate the risk of confounding or indication biases, combines the advantages of a self-controlled design (self-adjustment for all time-unvarying confounders) with those of time-depending adjustment and use of an active comparator. [...]our results confirm the existence of an increased risk of aortoiliac aneurysms or dissections in the month following fluoroquinolone initiation, which appears to be independent from the potential role of underlying infections.