Fluoroquinolones increase the risk of aortic aneurysm and dissection: A protocol for meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Fluoroquinolones have been associated with collagen degradation, raising safety concerns related to more serious collagen disorders with use of these antibiotics, including aortic aneurysm and dissection. We performed this protocol for meta-analysis to examine the relationship between fluoroquinolone therapy and the risk of developing aortic aneurysm and dissection. METHODS: This study will be designed following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols statement guidelines. Studies were identified through systematic searches in November 2021 with no restrictions on date and time, and publication status using the following bibliographic databases: Embase, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and the Cochrane Library. The risk of bias of included studies were estimated by taking into consideration the characteristics including random sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding of patients, blinding of outcome assessment, completeness of outcome data, selective reporting and other bias by Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Data synthesis and analyses were performed using Stata version 10.0 software. RESULTS: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION: Use of fluoroquinolones may be associated with an increased risk of aortic aneurysm and dissection. While these were rare events, physicians should be aware of this possible drug safety risk associated with fluoroquinolone therapy. OPEN SCIENCE FRAMEWORK REGISTRATION NUMBER: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/ZKE3Y10.17605/OSF.IO/UP3BA