title: Clinical effects of gemifloxacin on the delay of tuberculosis treatment.
abstract: Although gemifloxacin has low in vitro activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the effect of gemifloxacin on the delay of tuberculosis (TB) treatment has not been validated in a clinical setting. The study group included patients with culture-confirmed pulmonary TB who initially received gemifloxacin for suspected community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Two control groups contained patients treated with other fluoroquinolones or nonfluoroquinolone antibiotics. Sixteen cases were treated with gemifloxacin for suspected CAP before TB diagnosis. Sixteen and 32 patients were treated with other fluoroquinolones and nonfluoroquinolones, respectively. The median period from the initiation of antibiotics to the administration of anti-TB medication was nine days in the gemifloxacin group, which was significantly different from the other fluoroquinolones group (35 days). The median times for the nonfluoroquinolone group and the gemifloxacin group were not significantly different. There were no significant differences between the gemifloxacin and other fluoroquinolone group in terms of symptomatic and radiographic improvements. However, the frequency of radiographic improvement in the other fluoroquinolones group tended to be higher than in the gemifloxacin group. Gemifloxacin might be the preferred fluoroquinolone for treating CAP, to alleviate any concerns about delaying TB treatment.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Lung Institute of Medical Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seo Yun
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae-Joon
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.forename: Jong Sun
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sung Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Eun Young
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.forename: Chang-Hoon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hee Soon
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Deog Kyeom
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077735:Gemifloxacin; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009287:Naphthyridines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D011859:Radiography; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D009287:Naphthyridines; D000077735:Gemifloxacin
keywords: Fluoroquinolones; Pneumonia; Tuberculosis