PARTIAL ACHILLES-TENDON RUPTURES ASSOCIATED WITH FLUOROQUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS - A CASE-REPORT AND LITERATURE-REVIEW

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics (such as ciprofloxacin, pefloxacin, ofloxa cin, norfloxacin, temafloxacin, etc.) have recently been implicated in the etiology of Achilles tendinitis and subsequent tendon rupture. We report on a patient with bilateral partial Achilles tendon ruptures a ssociated with ciprofloxacin therapy and present a review of the curre nt literature on this increasingly recognized complication. Treatment with fluoroquinolones should be discontinued at the first sign of tend on inflammation so as to reduce the risk of subsequent rupture. Magnet ic resonance imaging is useful in distinguishing between Achilles tend initis and partial tendon rupture.