SAFETY OF CIPROFLOXACIN THERAPY IN CHILDREN - MAGNETIC-RESONANCE IMAGES, BODY-FLUID LEVELS OF FLUORIDE AND LINEAR GROWTH

We evaluated the safety of ciprofloxacin administered in a dose of 15- 25 mg/kg for 9-16 days, in a case series of 58 children who were betwe en 8 months and 13 years of age. No arthropathy was observed during th erapy and follow-up. Blinded evaluation of 22 pairs of nuclear magneti c resonance scans obtained before and between day 10 and 15 of therapy did not reveal any cartilage damage. After the first dose of ciproflo xacin (10 mg/kg), serum fluoride levels increased at 12 h in 15 of 19 (79%) patients; 24-h urinary fluoride excretion was higher on day 7 co mpared with basal values in 16 of 18 (88.9%) patients. Height z scores of 53 patients at a mean of 22.5 months of follow-up were not signifi cantly different from basal scores (p = 0.12). In conclusion, ciproflo xacin may be recommended for use in children for short duration when e ffective alternative antibacterials are unavailable. However, there is a need for further studies to evaluate the tissue accumulation of flu oride and its potential to cause toxic effects.