Product name: Norfloxacin
CAS:70458-96-7
Norfloxacin is a synthetic chemotherapeutic agent[1][2] occasionally used to treat common as well as complicated urinary tract infections.[3] It is sold under various brand names with the most common being Noroxin. In form of ophthalmic solutions it is known as Chibroxin. Norfloxacin is a second generation synthetic fluoroquinolone (quinolone) developed by Kyorin Seiyaku K.K. (Kyorin).[4]

The licensed uses for norfloxacin are quite limited as norfloxacin is to be considered a drug of last resort when all other antibiotics have failed. There are currently only three approved uses in the adult population[5] (one of which is restricted[6]) and the other ineffective due to bacterial resistance. Chibroxin[7] (ophthalmic) is approved for use in children older than one year of age.

Norfloxacin interacts with a number of other drugs, as well as a number of herbal and natural supplements. Such interactions increase the risk of anticoagulation and the formation of non-absorbable complexes, as well as increasing the risk of toxicity.[8]

Norfloxacin is associated with a number of serious and life threatening adverse reactions as well as spontaneous tendon ruptures and irreversible peripheral neuropathy. Such reactions may manifest long after therapy had been completed and in severe cases may result in life long disabilities. Hepatoxicity resulting in fatalities has also been reported with the use of norfloxacin.