A review of the comparative in-vitro activities of 12 antimicrobial agents, with a focus on five new respiratory quinolones'.
The efficacies of many antimicrobial agents are being threatened by a global increase in the numbers of resistant bacterial pathogens--microorganisms that were once susceptible to some of these agents. In particular, antimicrobial resistance amongst strains of Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Streptococcus pneumoniae has limited the usefulness of first-line agents in some clinical settings. Quinolones were introduced in the 1980s and represented a significant therapeutic advancement in the treatment of patients with infectious diseases. While these compounds possessed potent in-vitro activities against a wide range of gram-negative pathogens, their activities against some gram-positive and 'atypical' pathogens remained borderline. Further advancement in the development of quinolones has overcome some of these problems. The 'respiratory quinolones' represent a new generation within this class of molecules and comprise compounds possessing broad spectrum activities against gram-negative, gram-positive and atypical pathogens. This review will focus on the in-vitro activities of five new respiratory quinolones (gatifloxacin, grepafloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin and trovafloxacin), ciprofloxacin and six non-quinolone agents (azithromycin, clarithromycin, amoxycillin, co-amoxiclav, cefuroxime and co-trimoxazole) against a range of bacterial and atypical pathogens, including those that are now resistant to several of these compounds.
Blondeau
J M
JM
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Saskatoon District Health, St Paul's Hospital (Grey Nuns'), Royal University Hospital and the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. blondeauj@sdh.sk.ca
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D024841:Fluoroquinolones