title: Once-daily moxifloxacin therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in general practice : evidence from a post-marketing surveillance study of 1467 patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of oral moxifloxacin in outpatients with respiratory tract infections treated in general practices in Germany with the focus on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHODS, DESIGN AND PATIENTS: This was an open-label, prospective, uncontrolled, post-marketing surveillance study undertaken between October 2001 and June 2002. Symptoms associated with pneumonia were documented at baseline and at follow-up visits. A general assessment was given and the number of days until improvement/cure were recorded by the attending physician at the end of therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 9036 patients were treated with moxifloxacin, of which 1467 had CAP. The recommended dosage of moxifloxacin (400mg once daily) was used in 97.8% of all CAP patients. Between the initial and final follow-up visits, symptoms of CAP were either improved or cured in 90-99% of patients. More than half of the patients showed improvement after 3 days (54.2%); 89.2% of patients were improved after 5 days. The mean time for patients to recover was 8.0 +/- 2.7 days, with 88.7% of patients recovered by day 10 of treatment. Physicians rated moxifloxacin therapy as 'very good' or 'good' in 96.6% of patients and virtually all favoured prescribing moxifloxacin again. Ten patients (0.7%) reported adverse events during moxifloxacin therapy, mostly gastrointestinal disturbances.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moxifloxacin is a very effective and safe treatment for patients with CAP and is highly accepted by physicians and patients because of rapid symptom improvement and good tolerability.
authors.affiliation: Kreiskrankenhaus Beeskow, Beeskow, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Landen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stauch