Fluoroquinolones and the risk of aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis including 53,651,283 patients

The association between fluoroquinolone use and the risk of aortic aneurysm as well as the risk of aortic dissections remains uncertain, primarily due to conflicting findings from observational studies. We sought to conduct a double-systematic review and meta-analysis of all observational studies to assess the existence and extent of both these associations. The aim of our study is to assess the role of Fluoroquinolone on aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection in comparison to other antibiotics.MEDLINE and Cochrane CENTRAL were systematically searched up till June 2021 for observational studies studying the correlation between fluoroquinolone usage and aortic aneurysms and dissections. Random-effects pooling was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). To assess publication bias, propensity score matching was conducted, and heterogeneity was evaluated by using I2 statistics.Of 688 potentially relevant articles, 635 titles were screened. Ten studies were included in the systematic review, and 4 observational studies with 53,651,283 participants were eligible to be included in the meta-analysis. Pooled estimates showed that fluoroquinolone use was associated with a higher risk of aortic aneurysm when compared to other Antibiotics (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.10-2.48; P<0.00001). However, fluoroquinolones had no significant effect on the risk of developing aortic dissection (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.96-1.25; P=0.19).The present analysis suggests that fluoroquinolone usage is more strongly linked to aortic aneurysm than other antibiotics. However, there was no statistically significant link between fluoroquinolone and aortic dissection. As a result, clinicians should exercise caution when administering fluoroquinolone to patients who have a history of or are at risk of aortic disease.