title: In vitro antimicrobial activity of levofloxacin against Streptococcus pneumoniae.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae continue to be a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in humans. Diseases caused by multi-resistant pneumococci are increasing rapidly worldwide. The fluoroquinolones have been widely used clinically to treat infectious diseases. The results of a study here on the five fluoroquinolones susceptibilities of S. pneumoniae are reported from the Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of five quinolones (enoxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin) were determined for 106 strains of S. pneumoniae. All MICs were determined by the agar dilution method utilizing Mueller-Hinton agar supplemented with 5% sheep blood.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MIC90 of levofloxacin was 1 microgram/ ml, and was unaffected by penicillin-susceptibility. MIC90 of ofloxacin and that of ciprofloxacin were 2 and 4 micrograms/ml, respectively, with 90.6% sensitive to ofloxacin. MIC90 of enoxacin and that of norfloxacin were higher than other compounds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The in vitro activity of levofloxacin is twice that of ofloxacin, 4-fold of ciprofloxacin, 16-fold of norfloxacin, and 64-fold of enoxacin. MICs of these five quinolones were unaffected by penicillin-susceptibility. The antibacterial activity of levofloxacin was better than that of ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, or enoxacin against S. pneumoniae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D064704:Levofloxacin; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D015242:Ofloxacin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D064704:Levofloxacin; D015242:Ofloxacin