Elderly people who took the medication were 17 times more likely to develop serious diabetes than if they took a different antibiotic, and were four times more likely to be hospitalized for low blood sugar.
The study was slated for a March 30 publication date in The New England Journal of Medicine, but was released earlier due to the importance of its findings.
Author Dr. David Juurlink of the Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Center in Toronto, says whether Tequin should be pulled from the market "is a question for regulators and the company."
