Original articleFourth generation fluoroquinolones: new weapons in the arsenal of ophthalmic antibiotics1
Section snippets
Design
The in vitro susceptibilities and potencies of ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and gatifloxacin were compared in a retrospective laboratory study using bacteria isolated from clinical cases of endophthalmitis.
Methods
The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) (μg/ml) of 93 bacterial endophthalmitis isolates were determined to ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and gatifloxacin using E-tests (AB Biodisk, Piscataway, NJ). The isolates included eight isolates of Staphylococcus aureus that were resistant to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin as determined by disk diffusion; six isolates of Staphylococcus aureus that were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin as determined by disk diffusion;
Results
Table 1summarizes the susceptibility results of 93 endophthalmitis isolates to ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, gatifloxacin, and moxifloxacin based on the NCCLS serum standards. Second-generation fluoroquinolone-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was statistically more susceptible (P = .01) to moxifloxacin than the other fluoroquinolones. Coagulase negative staphylococci were statistically more susceptible (P = .02) to gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin than levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and
Discussion
We are at the advent of the introduction of new generations of fluoroquinolone antibiotics for ocular therapy. The question to be asked is whether there will be any forthcoming advantage over the present generation fluoroquinolones. These new antibiotics were developed primarily for the treatment of systemic infections such as pneumonia. In this setting, they have demonstrated a broad spectrum of activity with greater potency for gram-positive bacteria (that is, Streptococci, Staphylococci) as
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Cited by (0)
- 1
The Eye and Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) was given a core grant for Vision Research EY 08098 and Research to Prevent Blindness. The first author (R.M.) was granted travel support for ARVO 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, FL by Alcon (Fort Worth, TX).
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The authors have no proprietary interest in any of the antibiotics presented in this manuscript.