Comparison of efficacies of oral levofloxacin and oral ciprofloxacin in a rabbit model of a staphylococcal abscess. (1/601)

Oral levofloxacin was compared to oral ciprofloxacin in a Staphylococcus aureus subcutaneous abscess model in rabbits. Rabbits were surgically prepared with subcutaneous wiffle balls (43 mm in diameter) and allowed to recover for 4 to 6 weeks. Rabbits were infected by direct injection into the capsule with S. aureus ATCC 29213 (5 x 10(5) CFU) and were allowed to remain infected for 8 days before the initiation of anti-infective treatment. Efficacy was determined by assessing the bacterial load within the capsule over a 10-day treatment period. In single-dose pharmacokinetic studies in infected rabbits, similar area under the concentration-time curve/MIC ratios were obtained in the plasma and abscess fluid for levofloxacin at 45 mg/kg of body weight and ciprofloxacin at 200 mg/kg of body weight. Similar efficacies were seen with levofloxacin at 45 mg/kg/day and ciprofloxacin 400 mg/kg/day by day 10. In this model, levofloxacin was significantly more efficacious than ciprofloxacin (P < 0.01).  (+info)

Pharmacodynamic comparisons of levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and ampicillin against Streptococcus pneumoniae in an in vitro model of infection. (2/601)

The increasing frequency of penicillin-resistant pneumococcus continues to be of concern throughout the world. Newer fluoroquinolone antibiotics, such as levofloxacin, have shown enhanced in vitro activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. In this study, the bactericidal characteristics and pharmacodynamic profiles of levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and ampicillin against four isolates of S. pneumoniae were compared by using an in vitro model of infection. Standard antibiotic dosing regimens which simulated the pharmacokinetic profile observed in humans were used. Control and treatment models were sampled for bacterial CFU per milliliter over the duration of each 24- or 48-h experiment. In addition, treatment models were sampled for MIC determinations and drug concentration. Regrowth of all isolates as well as an increase in MICs throughout the study period was observed in the ciprofloxacin experiments. A limited amount of regrowth was noted during levofloxacin therapy for one isolate; however, no change in MIC was detected for any isolate. Ampicillin showed rapid and sustained bactericidal activity against all isolates. In this study, ratios of effective fluoroquinolone area under the concentration-time curve (AUC):MIC values ranged from 30 to 55. Levofloxacin, owing to its larger AUC0-24 values, has excellent and sustained activity against different pneumococcal strains superior to that of ciprofloxacin.  (+info)

In vitro activities of ketolides HMR 3647 [correction of HRM 3647] and HMR 3004 [correction of HRM 3004], levofloxacin, and other quinolones and macrolides against Neisseria spp. and Moraxella catarrhalis. (3/601)

In vitro activities of the ketolides HMR 3647 [corrected] and HMR 3004 [corrected] against pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis, saprophytic Neisseria isolates, and Moraxella catarrhalis were determined. The comparison of ketolide activities with those of the other macrolides shows a much better activity in the majority of species, with macrolide MICs at which 90% of the isolates are inhibited between 8- and 10-fold higher.  (+info)

The antibacterial efficacy of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa assessed by combining antibiotic exposure and bacterial susceptibility. (4/601)

Ciprofloxacin has a four-fold greater in-vitro activity than levofloxacin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but levofloxacin has a four-fold higher area under the serum concentration-time curve (AUC) for an equivalent dose. It has been proposed that the AUC/MIC ratio is a general predictor of antibacterial efficacy for quinolones. Using an in-vitro kill curve technique, performed in quadruplicate, with nine antibiotic concentrations and three strains of P. aeruginosa with varying quinolone susceptibility, we constructed sigmoidal dose-response curves for AUC(0-6.5)/MIC and area under the bacterial kill curve (AUBKC) or AUC(0-24)/MIC and log change in viable count at 24 h (delta24). For levofloxacin the log AUC(0-6.5)/MIC ratio to produce 50% of the maximal effect was 0.74 +/- 0.13 (r2 = 0.9435) for levofloxacin and 0.82 +/- 0.06 (r2 = 0.7935) for ciprofloxacin. The log AUC(0-24)/MIC ratio to produce 50% maximal effect was 1.58 +/- 0.13 (r2 = 0.7788) for levofloxacin and 1.37 +/- 0.12 (r2 = 0.7207) for ciprofloxacin. An AUC(0-24)/MIC ratio of 125 produced 85.4% of the maximal response with levofloxacin and 81.5% with ciprofloxacin. These data suggest that levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin have equivalent activity against P. aeruginosa at equivalent AUC/MIC ratios.  (+info)

Primary Shewanella alga septicemia in a patient on hemodialysis. (5/601)

We report the first Japanese case of primary septicemia with Shewanella alga and also describe the bacteriological characteristics of and results of antibiotic susceptibility tests of the isolate. S. alga was repeatedly isolated, at times simultaneously with Escherichia coli, from the blood of a 64-year-old female undergoing hemodialysis. The isolated organism was determined to be S. alga based on recently published identification criteria, such as hemolysis on sheep blood agar, no acid production from carbohydrates, and growth on agar containing 6. 5% NaCl. Results of antibiotic susceptibility tests demonstrated that the isolate was sensitive to levofloxacin and cefpirome (MICs, 128, 64, and 8 microg/ml, respectively). Although the role of S. alga as a human pathogen has not been fully determined, accumulating data suggest that this organism may be a potential pathogen, especially in compromised hosts.  (+info)

Use of a genetic approach to evaluate the consequences of inhibition of efflux pumps in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (6/601)

Drug efflux pumps in Pseudomonas aeruginosa were evaluated as potential targets for antibacterial therapy. The potential effects of pump inhibition on susceptibility to fluoroquinolone antibiotics were studied with isogenic strains that overexpress or lack individual efflux pumps and that have various combinations of efflux- and target-mediated mutations. Deletions in three efflux pump operons were constructed. As expected, deletion of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump decreased resistance to fluoroquinolones in the wild-type P. aeruginosa (16-fold reduction for levofloxacin [LVX]) or in the strain that overexpressed mexAB-oprM operon (64-fold reduction for LVX). In addition to that, resistance to LVX was significantly reduced even for the strains carrying target mutations (64-fold for strains for which LVX MICs were >4 microg/ml). We also studied the frequencies of emergence of LVX-resistant variants from different deletion mutants and the wild-type strain. Deletion of individual pumps or pairs of the pumps did not significantly affect the frequency of emergence of resistant variants (at 4x the MIC for the wild-type strain) compared to that for the wild type (10(-6) to 10(-7)). In the case of the strain with a triple deletion, the frequency of spontaneous mutants was undetectable (<10(-11)). In summary, inhibition of drug efflux pumps would (i) significantly decrease the level of intrinsic resistance, (ii) reverse acquired resistance, and (iii) result in a decreased frequency of emergence of P. aeruginosa strains highly resistant to fluoroquinolones in clinical settings.  (+info)

Levofloxacin versus cefuroxime axetil in the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis: results of a randomized, double-blind study. (7/601)

A randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, three-arm parallel design, multicentre study was conducted among adult patients with acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) in order to compare the efficacy and safety of two different doses of levofloxacin with cefuroxime axetil. A total of 832 patients were randomized to receive oral levofloxacin (250 mg od or 500 mg od) or oral cefuroxime axetil (250 mg bd) for 7-10 days. The primary efficacy analysis was based on the clinical response in patients with bacteriologically confirmed AECB, determined 5-14 days after the end of therapy (per-protocol population). Of 839 patients enrolled (at 71 centres in 14 countries), seven were not treated, giving an intention-to-treat (ITT) population of 832. In total, 281 patients received levofloxacin 250 mg, 280 received levofloxacin 500 mg and 271 received cefuroxime axetil. The cure rates in the ITT population were: levofloxacin 250 mg, 70% (196/281); levofloxacin 500 mg, 70% (195/280); cefuroxime axetil, 61% (166/271); those in the per-protocol population were: 78% (121/156), 79% (108/137) and 66% (88/134), respectively. Both doses of levofloxacin were at least as effective as cefuroxime axetil and were active against the main pathogens of clinical relevance (Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis). All three treatment regimens were equally well tolerated. In conclusion, the results show that levofloxacin (250 mg and 500 mg) od is effective and well tolerated in the treatment of AECB in adult patients.  (+info)

Pharmacodynamics of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin against Streptococcus pneumoniae. (8/601)

An in-vitro pharmacokinetic model was used to compare the pharmacodynamics of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin against four penicillin-susceptible and four penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Logarithmic-phase cultures were exposed to the peak concentrations of levofloxacin or ciprofloxacin observed in human serum after 500 mg and 750 mg oral doses, human elimination pharmacokinetics were simulated, and viable bacterial counts were measured at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 and 36 h. Levofloxacin was rapidly and significantly bactericidal against all eight strains evaluated, with eradication of six strains occurring despite area under the inhibitory curve over 24 h (AUIC24) values of only 32-64 SIT(-1) x h (serum inhibitory titre over time). The pharmacodynamics of ciprofloxacin were more variable and the rate of bacterial killing was consistently slower than observed with levofloxacin. Ciprofloxacin eradicated five strains despite having an AUIC24 of only 44 SIT(-1) x h. These data suggest that the increased potency of levofloxacin and more favourable pharmacokinetics compared with ciprofloxacin provide enhanced pharmacodynamic activity against S. pneumoniae. Furthermore, these data suggest that the minimum AUIC required for clinical efficacy against and eradication of S. pneumoniae with levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin may be well below the 125 SIT(-1) x h identified by other studies.  (+info)