Tequin Attorneys
Tequin, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., is an antibiotic
used to treat various infections including pneumonia, bronchitis, some
sexually transmitted diseases, and infections of the urinary tract, kidneys,
and skin.
On May 1, 2006, Bristol-Myers Squibb stated that it will cease making
and selling its antibiotic Tequin. Tequin has been linked to serious cases
of diabetes and other potentially fatal blood sugar abnormalities. According
to a Canadian study that was supposed to appear in the New England Journal
of Medicine in March, Tequin users had 17 times greater risk of developing
serious diabetes and 4 times greater risk of being hospitalized with low
blood sugar complications than patients using other antibiotics.
Consumer group Public Citizen stated that there have been 388 patients
with blood-sugar irregularities linked with Tequin since January 1, 2000.
Those cases included 20 deaths and 159 hospitalizations. The consumer
group and various physicians called for the drug's withdrawal, claiming
it carries great health risks but few benefits over similar drugs.
On Feb. 24, 2006, The FDA added a warning against the use of the antibiotic
Tequin in people with diabetes after reports of problems with high blood
sugar and low blood sugar associated with the drug. However, the study's
author said the blood-sugar problem can happen to anybody whether they
have diabetes or not, and it usually occurs within a few days of taking
the drug.
The risk of the drug might be even greater than the study revealed because
it was only based on hospital data. If a patient suffered these side effects
but wasn't hospitalized, or died, they would not have been included in
the study data.
Information about the possible risk of low blood sugar and high blood
sugar was added to Tequin's label in 2002.
The FDA and the manufacturer of the drug, Bristol-Myers Squibb, have
received reports of serious cases of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia)
and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in people receiving Tequin. Since Tequin
was approved in 1999, there have also been rare cases of life-threatening
side effects associated with the drug, but most of these were reversible
when properly managed.
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