Aim: Fluoroquinolone antibiotics have been implicated in cases of metabolic adverse events. This study investigated the causal association between fluoroquinolones and serious hypoglycemia in those with and without diabetes.
Methods: We conducted a propensity score-matched cohort study using Optum claims data. We included adults dispensed an oral fluoroquinolone or comparator antibiotic between January 2000 and September 2015 for specific infections of interest. The outcome was serious hypoglycemia, defined using a validated algorithm. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) in diabetes and non-diabetes cohorts after matching on propensity scores fitted using confounding variables of interest.
Results: Our cohort contained 119,112 individuals with diabetes and 917,867 individuals without diabetes exposed to a fluoroquinolone, matched 1:1 with a comparator. Matching produced balance (standardized mean difference < 0.1) on all variables included in the propensity score. The OR for the association between fluoroquinolones and serious hypoglycemia was 1.28 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-1.57) in the entire cohort, 1.30 (95% CI: 1.05-1.62) in individuals with diabetes, and 1.06 (95% CI: 0.53-2.13) in individuals without diabetes.
Conclusion: Fluoroquinolone users are at an increased risk of serious hypoglycemia relative to comparator antibiotic users. This association was evident only among persons diagnosed with diabetes.
Keywords: Cohort studies; Comparative study; Diabetes; Fluoroquinolones; Hypoglycemia; Pharmacoepidemiology; Propensity score.
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