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Oral Fluoroquinolones and the Risk of Uveitis

Sandhu HS, Brucker AJ, Ma L, VanderBeek BL

JAMA ophthalmology, 2016

4,387,651 participants

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Fluoroquinolones are the most commonly prescribed antibiotic class in the outpatient setting. Recent reports have implicated an association between oral fluoroquinolones and an increased risk of uveitis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the hazard of uveitis with oral fluoroquinolone use.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical claims data from a large national US insurer (N = 4,387,651). Cohorts from ambulatory care centers across the United States were created including every new user of an oral fluoroquinolone or β-lactam antibiotic prescription with at least 24 months of data prior to the date of the prescription from January 1, 2000, to January 30, 2013. Exclusion criteria consisted of any previous diagnosis of uveitis or a uveitis-associated systemic illness. Participants were censored for a new diagnosis of a uveitis-associated systemic illness, the end of an observation period, use of the other class of antibiotic, or removal from the insurance plan. Data analysis was performed from January 2 through March 15, 2015.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The hazard of a uveitis diagnosis after a fluoroquinolone prescription compared with a β-lactam prescription using multivariate regression with Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS: Of the 4,387,651 patients in the database, 843,854 individuals receiving a fluoroquinolone and 3,543,797 patients receiving a β-lactam were included in the analysis. After controlling for…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 4,387,651 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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