http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011129/hl/cipro_1.html
Thursday November 29 5:39 PM ET
By Emma Hitt, PhD
ATLANTA (Reuters Health) - Many United States post office workers who took antibiotics
to protect themselves from anthrax infection suffered adverse reactions to the
drugs, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news
- web
sites) (CDC).
Nineteen percent reported severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal
pain; 14% reported fainting, light-headedness or dizziness; 7% reported
heartburn or acid reflux; and 6% had rashes, hives, or itchy skin.
Postal employees in New Jersey, New York City and the District of Columbia
were given a questionnaire on adverse events 7 to 10 days after protective
antibiotic treatment was prescribed. The results of the survey are published in
the November 30th issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
A total of 5,819 postal workers responded to the questionnaire, of whom
3,863 (66%) said they had started taking antibiotics.
Eighty-nine percent reported using ciprofloxacin and 11% used other drugs,
including doxycycline (6%) and amoxicillin (1%).
The percentage of workers experiencing adverse events was higher in New
Jersey than in the other two locations. This may be explained, the CDC notes,
by the different mode of questionnaire administration there. In New Jersey,
nurses gave workers the questionnaire, while workers completed it themselves in
New York and Washington.
Eight percent of workers on ciprofloxacin stopped taking the drug, either
because of adverse events, fear of adverse events or because they thought they
did not need it, CDC researchers report.
A total of 82 people (2%) sought medical attention for symptoms that may
have been associated with a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics.
But CDC researchers point out that among the 33 patients in New Jersey and
New York who sought medical attention for possible allergic reactions, none
were hospitalized. And none of their reactions were linked to antibiotic
treatment by the doctors who examined the patients.
The CDC emphasizes that people exposed to anthrax must take a full 60-day
course of antibiotics to prevent anthrax infection.
According to Dr. Nancy Rosenstein, a medical officer with the CDC's National
Center for Infectious Diseases, people who have adverse reactions to their
antibiotics and are at risk for anthrax are switched to another antibiotic if
appropriate and are counseled about taking antibiotics.
``There aren't any specific characteristics to allow us to predict who is
going to have an adverse reaction to antibiotics,'' Rosenstein told Reuters
Health during a telephone press conference. ``In many cases,'' she continued,
``the side effects associated with an antibiotic can be managed and the
individual does not have to be switched to another antibiotic.''
She pointed out that the data being reported are only for the 10 days after
start of preventive treatment. ``We are going to continue to monitor people for
side effects throughout the course of their antibiotics and there will be more
data on that in the next couple of months,'' she said.
The findings are similar to those from an earlier survey of workers at
American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida, which found that about 20% of those
taking antibiotics--mostly ciprofloxacin--experienced side effects.
SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2001;50:1031-1034.
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