Co-prescription of ciprofloxacin and statins; a dangerous combination: Case Report

Drug interaction is a common clinical problem which is often underestimated by physicians. Statins are one of the commonly prescribed medicines worldwide that are generally well tolerated. Muscle-related symptoms have a varied clinical presentation which usually increases if a new medicine is co-prescribed. We report the case of a 65- year-old woman who presented with a 10-day history of extreme fatigue, slowly progressing muscle weakness and insomnia. Drug-induced myopathy was diagnosed with concomitant use of atorvastatin and ciprofloxacin. Muscle weakness improved after the medicines were withdrawn. Co-prescription of Ciprofloxacin and statin therapy appeared to have contributed to muscle weakness in this patient. Drug interaction should also be kept in mind, when managing patients on statins as it may be underappreciated as a cause of muscle weakness and its consequences can have potentially serious outcomes.