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 between 8 months and 13 years of age. No arthropathy was observed during therapy and follow-up. Blinded evaluation of 22 pairs of nuclear magnetic resonance scans obtained before and between day 10 and 15 of therapy did not reveal any cartilage damage. After the first dose of ciprofloxacin (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 compared 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 significantly different from basal scores (p = 0.12). In conclusion, ciprofloxacin may be recommended for use in children for short duration when effective alternative antibacterials are unavailable. However, there is a need for further studies to evaluate the tissue accumulation of fluoride and its potential to cause toxic effects.