Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering Corporation's antibiotic drug Tequin might cause increased risk that consumers could develop diabetes.

Investigation and mutiple pending lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering Corporation, the makers of Tequin, alleging that the antibiotic may significantly increase a patient's risk of developing diabetes or another blood-sugar disorder.

Tequin - from the fluoroquinolone spectrum of antibiotics - is commonly prescribed for sinus, lung, urinary tract infections, and other conditions.

Safety concerns regarding Tequin began to surface in 2001, two years after the drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, when medical literature began suggesting a link between Tequin and dysglycemia among diabetics and non-diabetics, the suit alleges. A Canadian study cited in the March 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that Tequin users had 17 times greater risk of developing serious diabetes and four times greater risk of being hospitalized with low blood sugar complications than patients using other antibiotics. Some of the symptoms caused by abnormally low or high blood sugar include nervousness, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, passing out, and confusion. Blood sugar disorders have also been shown to cause low blood pressure that may result in heart attack or renal failure.

In March of 2006 Bristol-Meyers Squibb announced to its shareholders that it would stop making and selling Tequin.

Do not change medications without first consulting your doctor.