This grade answers one narrow question: how strong is the public evidence and safety record behind this drug, and how clean is its money trail and court record? It is not a verdict on whether the drug is right for you.
WARNING: SERIOUS ADVERSE REACTIONS INCLUDING TENDINITIS, TENDON RUPTURE, PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY, CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM EFFECTS AND EXACERBATION OF MYASTHENIA GRAVIS Fluoroquinolones, including ciprofloxacin, have been associated with disabling and potentially irreversible serious adverse reactions that have occurred together [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] including: Tendinitis and tendon rupture [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Peripheral neuropathy [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Central nervous system effects [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] Discontinue ciprofloxacin immediately and avoid the use of fluoroquinolones, including ciprofloxacin in patients who experience any of these serious adverse reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ]. Fluoroquinolones, including ciprofloxacin, may exacerbate muscle weakness in patients with myasthenia gravis. Avoid ciprofloxacin in patients with known history of myasthenia gravis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ]. Because fluoroquinolones, including ciprofloxacin, have been associated with serious adverse reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1 - 5.16) ], reserve ciprofloxacin for use in patients who have ...
Listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (antibiotic stewardship group: KeyAccessGroup, WatchGroup): a global expert panel judged it among the medicines a health system should always have, on evidence of value, not marketing.
Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibacterial indicated in adults (18 years of age and older) with the following infections caused by designated, susceptible bacteria and in pediatric patients where indicated: Skin and Skin Structure Infections ( 1.1 ) Bone and Joint Infections ( 1.2 ) Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infections ( 1.3 ) Infectious Diarrhea ( 1.4 ) Typhoid Fever (Enteric Fever) ( 1.5 ) Uncomplicated Cervical and Urethral Gonorrhea ( 1.6 ) Inhalational Anthrax post-exposure in adult and pediatric patients ( 1.7 ) Plague in adult and pediatric patients ( 1.8 ) Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis ( 1.9 ) Lower Respiratory Tract Infections ( 1.10 ) Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Bronchitis Urinary Tract Infections ( 1.11 ) Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) Acute Uncomplicated Cystitis Complicated UTI and Pyelonephritis in Pediatric Patients Acute Sinusitis ( 1.12 ) Usage To reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria and maintain the effectiveness of ciprofloxacin tablets and other antibacterial drugs, ciprofloxacin tablets should be used only to treat or prevent infections that are proven or strongly suspected to be caused by bacteria. ( 1.13 ) 1.1 Skin and Skin Structure In...
Known hypersensitivity to ciprofloxacin or other quinolones ( 4.1 , 5.6 , 5.7 ) Concomitant administration with tizanidine ( 4.2 ) 4.1 Hypersensitivity Ciprofloxacin is contraindicated in persons with a history of hypersensitivity to ciprofloxacin, any member of the quinolone class of antibacterials, or any of the product components [see Warnings and Precautions (5.7) ]. 4.2 Tizanidine Concomitant administration with tizanidine is contraindicated [see Drug Interactions (7) ].
Hypersensitivity and other serious reactions: Serious and sometimes fatal reactions (for example, anaphylactic reactions) may occur after the first or subsequent doses of ciprofloxacin. Discontinue ciprofloxacin at the first sign of skin rash, jaundice or any sign of hypersensitivity. ( 4.1 , 5.6 , 5.7 ) Hepatotoxicity: Discontinue immediately if signs and symptoms of hepatitis occur. ( 5.8 ) Clostridioides difficile -associated diarrhea: Evaluate if colitis occurs. ( 5.11 ) QT Prolongation: Prolongation of the QT interval and isolated cases of torsade de pointes have been reported. Avoid use in patients with known prolongation, those with hypokalemia, and with other drugs that prolong the QT interval. ( 5.12 , 7 , 8.5 ) 5.1 Disabling and Potentially Irreversible Serious Adverse Reactions Including Tendinitis and Tendon Rupture, Peripheral Neuropathy, and Central Nervous System Effects Fluoroquinolones, including ciprofloxacin, have been associated with disabling and potentially irreversible serious adverse reactions from different body systems that can occur together in the same patient. Commonly seen adverse reactions include tendinitis, tendon rupture, arthralgia, myalgia, perip...
The following serious and otherwise important adverse drug reactions are discussed in greater detail in other sections of labeling: Disabling and Potentially Irreversible Serious Adverse Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Tendinitis and Tendon Rupture [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Peripheral Neuropathy [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Central Nervous System Effects [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] Exacerbation of Myasthenia Gravis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ] Other Serious and Sometimes Fatal Adverse Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] Hypersensitivity Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.7) ] Hepatotoxicity [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8) ] Risk of Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection [see Warnings and Precautions (5.9) ] Serious Adverse Reactions with Concomitant Theophylline [see Warnings and Precautions (5.10) ] Clostridioides difficile -Associated Diarrhea [see Warnings and Precautions (5.11) ] Prolongation of the QT Interval [see Warnings and Precautions (5.12) ] Musculoskeletal Disorders in Pediatric Patients [see Warnings and Precautions (5.13) ] Photosensitivity/Phototoxicity [see Warnings and Precautions (5.14) ] Dev...
Dosage and Administration, Important Administration Instructions ( 2.1 ) 11/2021
Source: FDA SPL label for Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride (A-S Medication Solutions), effective 20260108. Full label on DailyMed.
These are counts of reports people filed, not rates of harm. Anyone can file one, and nobody checks whether the drug was the cause. Millions of doses are taken for every report sent, so the useful part is how this drug compares with the average across all drugs.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,440 | 8,345 | 7,345 | 5,364 | 5,647 | 5,379 | 4,789 | 2,040 |
2,472 reports blaming this drug for every million Medicare prescriptions filled, which is 0.9× the typical drug on this site. (12,028 reports in 2024–2026, against 4,864,951 Medicare fills in one year. This is the one number here that accounts for how many people take the drug.)
Source: the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports are voluntary and unverified. Drugs that are prescribed a lot, in the news, or in lawsuits attract more reports, so the percentages are compared with the whole database to correct for that partly, not fully.
| Date | Class | Firm | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/2025 | Class II | FDC Limited | Defective container: Unable to get the solution out of the bottle as the spike of the cap was lodged in the nozzle of the product bottle |
| 12/2024 | Class II | FDC Limited | Defective container: Unable to get the solution out of the bottle as the spike of the cap was lodged in the nozzle of the product bottle |
| 07/2024 | Class II | FDC Limited | Defective container: unable to get the solution out of the bottle as the spike of the cap was lodged in the nozzle of the product bottle. |
| 04/2022 | Class II | Mckesson Medical-Surgical Inc. Corporate Office | cGMP deviations: Temperature abuse |
| 07/2019 | Class II | Altaire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Lack of Assurance of Sterility |
| 07/2019 | Class II | Altaire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Lack of Assurance of Sterility |
| 07/2019 | Class II | Altaire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Lack of Assurance of Sterility |
| 03/2012 | Class III | Pack Pharmaceuticals | Labeling Illegible: Missing Label; The voluntary recall of the aforementioned batch of product is being initiated due to two bottles missing container labels. |
Class I = reasonable probability of serious harm. Class II = temporary or reversible harm. Class III = unlikely to harm. Most generic recalls are manufacturing or labeling defects for one lot, not a verdict on the molecule.
Counts measure how much evidence exists and how transparent it is, not how big the benefit is. For that, ask your prescriber: if 100 people like me took this, how many would get better because of it, and how many would be harmed? (Doctors call these the "number needed to treat" and "number needed to harm.") It differs by condition and is the number drug ads leave out. Sources: PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov.
In 2024, drug companies reported $0 in payments to US physicians and hospitals tied to this drug across 0 transactions.
No pending federal MDL names this drug or its brands.
Not named in any federal pharmaceutical settlement of $100M or more on record.
Sources: CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act); Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending docket list; DOJ settlements as tabulated on Wikipedia with links to the primary record. State-court and individual suits are not included.
| Product | Fills | $/fill |
|---|---|---|
| Ciprofloxacin HCl | 4,856,922 | $7 |
| Ciloxan | 5,419 | $280 |
| Cipro | 2,197 | $174 |
| Cipro | 401 | $96 |
| Ciprofloxacin | 12 | $282 |
Same ATC pharmacological class, graded ones first, best grade at the top. Being in the same class does not make them interchangeable for your condition; it makes them worth asking about.