A worldwide clinical overview of lomefloxacin, a once-daily fluoroquinolone

Abstract

Lomefloxacin, an orally active difluorinated quinolone, is active against a wide variety of clinically relevant Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms. A totoal of 3387 evaluable patients received (both complicated and uncomplicated), acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, acute bacterial diarrhea, skin and skin structure infections, or for prophylaxis during urinary tract surgery or instrumentation. In these studies lomefloxacin was compared with oral norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, amoxicillin and cefaclor, and the parenteral agents cefotaxime and cefuroxime. Once-daily oral administration of lomefloxacin was either equally effective or statistically significantly superior in clinical and/or bacteriologic efficacy to comparative agents that were administered two or three times per day (except for prophylaxis studies, in which single doses of each antibiotic were administered preoperatively). The safely of lomefloxacin was assessed in 3246 patients and subjects. Most adverse events were mild to moderate in severity. In general, the incidence of adverse events for patients and subjects receiving lomefloxacin was comparable to that observed in patients treated with comparative drugs. The incidence of adverse events in elderly patients was similar to that observed in younger patients. Concurrent administratopm of the ophylline did not increase the incidence of adverse events. The most common adverse events were related tothe gastrointestinal tract (nausea), the skin and appendages (photosensitivity) and the central nervous system (dizziness). Lomefloxacin, administered orally once daily, is effective and well tolerated in patients with a variety of infections of bacterial origin.