PURPOSE: This study was performed to compare the effect of fourth-generation fluoroquinolones gatifloxacin on epithelial healing and penetration into the aqueous humor following corneal epithelial removal. The administered drugs were Zymar(TM) and Gatiflo(R), which differ from each other by the presence of benzalkonium chloride. METHODS: Eighteen eyes of nine New Zealand white rabbits were randomized to receive either Zymar(TM) or Gatiflo(R) following anterior keratectomy with a diameter of 6.0 mm. Eyes were dosed with either antibiotic according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval; specifically, Zymar(TM) and Gatiflo(R) were dosed every two hours for the first two days and then four times daily for the following five days. Starting from postoperative day 0, photos were taken daily to measure the area of the residual epithelial defects. Anterior chamber paracentesis was performed to determine the drug concentration at postoperative days 1, 2, and 7. RESULTS: The mean healing times after Zymar(TM) and Gatiflo(R) treatment were 3.0+/-0.71 and 3.2+/-0.84 days, respectively (P=0.813). No statistically significant differences in the mean healing time and the mean area of the healed corneal wound were noted between the two groups. No difference in anterior chamber concentration was observed between the two groups at postoperative day 7 (P=0.362). CONCLUSIONS: Although the two drugs differ in that on drug has preservatives, no significant differences were found in the epithelial healing effect or anterior chamber concentration after short-term dosing for 1 week in this trial.
Anterior Chamber ; Aqueous Humor ; Benzalkonium Compounds ; Eye ; Fluoroquinolones ; Paracentesis ; Rabbits ; United States Food and Drug Administration ; Wound Healing

BACKGROUND: Early conversion from intravenous to oral antibiotics plays an important role in lowering the risk of catheter-associated infections, reducing the workload of nurses, decreasing direct and indirect costs, and shortening hospital stays. In August 2015, an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) was implemented to facilitate conversion from intravenous to oral administration of fluoroquinolones in our institute. This study evaluated the clinical and economic impact of the intervention. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were retrospectively collected by reviewing electronic medical records. All hospitalized patients aged 18 and older who met the study inclusion criteria for the conversion were included between August and November 2015. We computed the physicians’ adherence rate to the ASP recommendations. We also measured the total use of fluoroquinolones, length of hospital stay, and medication costs. RESULTS: During 4 months, 129 cases were enrolled in the study. The adherence rate was 79.8%. The average total prescription volume of intravenous fluoroquinolones, the length of hospital stay, and the total cost of the fluoroquinolones statistically significantly decreased in the intervention-adherent group. CONCLUSION: Intervention to facilitate conversion from intravenous to oral administration has reduced excess use of intravenous fluoroquinolones and length of hospital stay. With these findings, further implementations of the ASP extending to other antibiotics may be warranted.
Administration, Oral ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Catheter-Related Infections ; Electronic Health Records ; Fluoroquinolones* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Prescriptions ; Retrospective Studies ; Viperidae

Fluoroquinolones are an important class of antibiotics that are widely used in adult patients because of their broad spectrum of activity, good tissue penetration, and oral bioavailability. However, fluoroquinolone use in children is limited because juvenile animals developed arthropathy in previous experiments on fluoroquinolone use. Indications for fluoroquinolone use in patients younger than 18 years, as stated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, include treatment of complicated urinary tract infections and postexposure treatment for inhalation anthrax. In Korea, the systemic use of fluoroquinolones has not been approved in children younger than 18 years. Although concerns remain regarding the adverse musculoskeletal effects of fluoroquinolones in children, their use in the pediatric population has increased in many circumstances. While pediatricians should be aware of the indications and adverse effects of fluoroquinolones, recent studies have shown that the risk for musculoskeletal complications in children did not significantly increase following fluoroquinolone treatment. In addition, fluoroquinolones may be particularly helpful in treating multidrug-resistant infections that have not responded to standard antibiotic therapy in immunocompromised patients. In the present article, we provide an updated review on the safety and current recommendations for using fluoroquinolones in children.
Adult ; Animals ; Anthrax ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biological Availability ; Child ; Fluoroquinolones ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Inhalation ; Joint Diseases ; Korea ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; United States Food and Drug Administration ; Urinary Tract Infections

Purpose: Although oral antibiotic therapy remains the most common treatment modality for chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP), it is known to have problems, such as potential adverse effects and the development of bacterial resistance. We compared the effects of oral and local injection therapies, with fluoroquinolones, in patients diagnosed as having chronic bacterial prostatitis/seminal vesiculitis, from Tc-99m ciprofloxacin imaging. Materials and Methods: The study randomly included 79 patients with symptom of prostatitis, who also showed hot uptake in the prostate or seminal vesicle on Tc-99m ciprofloxacin imaging. A total of 53 patients received oral antibiotics for 3 months. In 26 patients, a local injection of ciprofloxacin into the prostate and/or seminal vesicle was performed via the transperineal route, with transrectal ultrasonography guidance. Four- glass tests and Tc-99m ciprofloxacin imaging were performed, and the patients were asked to complete National institute of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) questionnaires at the baseline and 3 months after the initiation of therapy. Results: The total score or subscores from the NIH-CPSI and bacteriological study after treatment was significantly decreased in both groups compared to that before treatment. The complete cure rate, based on the Tc-99m ciprofloxacin imaging findings, was significantly higher in the local injection (23.1%) than the oral therapy group (16.9%, p<0.024). In the local injection group, 15 men (57.7%) showed transient hematuria and/or bloody ejaculation, but without any serious side effects. Conclusions: A transperineal lesional injection of fluoroquinolone will be a valuable therapeutic alternative in men with chronic bacterial prostatitis/ seminal vesiculitis; although a long term outcome study will be required.
Administration, Oral* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ciprofloxacin ; Ejaculation ; Fluoroquinolones ; Glass ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Male ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Prostate ; Prostatitis ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Radioisotopes ; Seminal Vesicles ; Ultrasonography

The persistent antibiotics resistant issue has emerged as an influencing factor to deteriorate community health. So, new antibiotics development is urgent for the treatment of bacterial infections. Alternatively, delafloxacin is an eminent new fluoroquinolone, and chemically distinct from older fluoroquinolones. There is lack of proton substituent that indicates the poor acidic property of the drug. It also has a good intracellular penetration capacity that increases the intensity of the bactericidal property in acidic environment. Delafloxacin is a super active drug against the skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) and community-acquired respiratory tract infections. Delafloxacin also exhibits better efficacy against pathogens which are resistant to other fluoroquinolones, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Delafloxacin received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSI). Phase III clinical trial among patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is ongoing to evaluate the effectiveness of delafloxacin. From the aforementioned arguments, delafloxacin will be a prominent candidate for the upcoming antibacterial agent. Similarly, delafloxacin can be a crucial drug to fight against ABSSI.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacterial Infections ; Fluoroquinolones ; Humans ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Pneumonia ; Protons ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Skin ; Soft Tissue Infections ; United States Food and Drug Administration

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Bismuth-containing quadruple and moxifloxacin-based triple regimens are recommended as second-line therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of each regimen. METHODS: From August 2004 to October 2012, a total of 949 patients (mean age, 54.32+/-12.08 years; male, 49.4%) who failed H. pylori eradication with a standard triple regimen were included. Patients treated with a bismuth-containing quadruple regimen for 7 and 14 days were designated as 7-BMT and 14-BMT, respectively, and those treated with a moxifloxacin-based triple regimen for 7 and 14 days were designated as 7-MA and 14-MA, respectively. H. pylori eradication was confirmed using the 13C-urea breath test, rapid urease test or histology. RESULTS: The eradication rates by 7-BMT, 14-BMT, 7-MA, and 14-MA were 66.4% (290/437), 71.1% (113/159), 53.1% (51/96), and 73.5% (189/257), respectively, by intention-to-treat analysis (ITT) and 76.5% (284/371), 83.8% (109/130), 55.6% (50/90), and 80.6% (187/232), respectively, by per-protocol analysis (PP). The eradication rates were higher in 14-BMT than 7-BMT by the ITT and PP analyses (p=0.277 and p=0.082, respectively). The 14-BMT and 14-MA treatments showed similar efficacies by ITT and PP (p=0.583 and p=0.443, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The 7-BMT, 14-BMT, and 14-MA treatments showed similar and suboptimal efficacies. In both regimens, extending the duration of treatment may be reasonable considering the high level of antibiotic resistance in Korea.
Adult ; Aged ; Amoxicillin/administration & dosage ; Antacids/*administration & dosage ; Anti-Infective Agents/*administration & dosage ; Bismuth/*administration & dosage ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Therapy, Combination/methods ; Female ; Fluoroquinolones/*administration & dosage ; Helicobacter Infections/*drug therapy ; *Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Intention to Treat Analysis ; Male ; Metronidazole/administration & dosage ; Middle Aged ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/administration & dosage ; Retrospective Studies ; Tetracycline/administration & dosage ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: To identify the risk factors associated with fluoroquinolone resistance in patients undergoing cataract surgery. METHODS: A total of 1,125 patients (1,125 eyes) who underwent cataract surgery at Veterans Health Service Medical Center from May 2011 to July 2012 were enrolled in this study. Conjunctival cultures were obtained from the patients on the day of surgery before instillation of any ophthalmic solutions. The medical records of patients with positive coagulase negative staphylococcus (CNS) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) cultures were reviewed to determine factors associated with fluoroquinolone resistance. RESULTS: Of 734 CNS and S. aureus cultures, 175 (23.8%) were resistant to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, gatifloxacin, or moxifloxacin. Use of fluoroquinolone within 3 months and within 1 year before surgery, topical antibiotic use other than fluoroquinolone, systemic antibiotic use, recent hospitalization, ocular surgery, intravitreal injection and use of eyedrops containing benzalkonium chloride were significantly more frequent in resistant isolates than in susceptible isolates. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, ocular surgery (odds ratio [OR], 8.457), recent hospitalization (OR, 6.646) and use of fluoroquinolone within 3 months before surgery (OR, 4.918) were significant predictors of fluoroquinolone resistance, along with intravitreal injection (OR, 2.976), systemic antibiotic use (OR, 2.665), use of eyedrops containing benzalkonium chloride (OR, 2.323), use of fluoroquinolone within 1 year before surgery (OR, 1.943) and topical antibiotic use other than fluoroquinolone (OR, 1.673). CONCLUSIONS: Recent topical fluoroquinolone use, hospitalization and ocular surgery were significantly associated with fluoroquinolone resistance in CNS and S. aureus isolates from ocular culture.
Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*administration & dosage ; *Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Eye Infections, Bacterial/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Female ; Fluoroquinolones/*administration & dosage ; Humans ; Male ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Staphylococcal Infections/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects/*isolation & purification

Aged ; Arylsulfotransferase ; genetics ; Aza Compounds ; administration & dosage ; Fluoroquinolones ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; Multiple Organ Failure ; chemically induced ; genetics ; Mutation ; genetics ; Quinolines ; administration & dosage

BACKGROUNDOphthalmic gel has been developed to increase the drug concentration in aqueous humor and to retard the loss of drug from the conjunctival sac. The research was to compare the drug concentration in aqueous humor of cataract patients administered 0.3% gatifloxacin ophthalmic gel with that in patients administered 0.3% gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution.

METHODSNinety-six patients with cataract (96 eyes) were randomly assigned to 8 groups. The patients in groups 1-4 received topical gatifloxacin 0.3% ophthalmic gel and those in groups 5-8 received gatifloxacin 0.3% ophthalmic solution. The dose regimen was 1 drop, 4 times a day for 3 consecutive days prior to cataract surgery. On the day of surgery, 1 drop was applied at 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes before commencement of cataract surgery in groups 1 and 5, groups 2 and 6, groups 3 and 7, and groups 4 and 8, respectively. Aqueous humor was extracted during the cataract surgery for the analysis of gatifloxacin concentration..

RESULTSThe concentrations of gatifloxacin in aqueous humor were (0.24 +/- 0.25) microg/ml, (1.11 +/- 0.74) microg/ml, (2.32 +/- 2.01) microg/ml and (1.85 +/- 1.14) microg/ml in groups 1 to 4, and (0.16 +/- 0.25) microg/ml, (0.31 +/- 0.24) microg/ml, (0.75 +/- 0.28) microg/ml and (0.33 +/- 0.22) microg/ml in groups 5 to 8, respectively. Patients receiving gatifloxacin ophthalmic gel showed greater mean values of gatifloxacin concentration in aqueous humor than those receiving gatifloxacin solution, and such differences were significant with P < 0.05 for all comparisons except that between groups 1 and 5.

CONCLUSIONTopical gatifloxacin ophthalmic gel can attain significantly greater drug concentrations in human aqueous humor than gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Infective Agents ; administration & dosage ; analysis ; pharmacokinetics ; therapeutic use ; Aqueous Humor ; metabolism ; Cataract ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Female ; Fluoroquinolones ; administration & dosage ; analysis ; pharmacokinetics ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

To report on Achromobacter xylosoxidans keratitis in two healthy patients who had worn contact lenses foran extended period of time. A 36-year-old female and a 21-year-old female visited our hospital with ocular pain and blurred vision. Both patients had a history of wearing soft contact lenses for over fve years with occasional overnight wear. At the initial presentation, a slit lamp examination revealed corneal stromal infiltrations and epithelial defects with peripheral neovascularization in both patients. Microbiological examinations were performed from samples of corneal scrapings, contact lenses, contact lens cases, and solution. The culture resulting from the samples taken from the contact lenses, contact lens cases, and solution were all positive for Achromobacter xylosoxidans. Confrming that the direct cause of the keratitis was the contact lenses, the frst patient was prescribed ceftazidime and amikacin drops sensitive to Achromobacter xylosoxidans. The second patient was treated with 0.3% gatifoxacin and fortifed tobramycin drops. After treatment, the corneal epithelial defects were completely healed, and subepithelial corneal opacity was observed. Two cases of Achromobacter xylosoxidans keratitis were reported in healthy young females who wore soft contact lenses. Achromobacter xylosoxidans should be considered a rare but potentially harmful pathogen for lens-induced keratitis in healthy hosts.
Achromobacter denitrificans/*isolation & purification ; Adult ; Amikacin/administration & dosage ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*administration & dosage ; Ceftazidime/administration & dosage ; Contact Lenses, Extended-Wear/*adverse effects ; Female ; Fluoroquinolones/administration & dosage ; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/diagnosis/*drug therapy/*microbiology ; Humans ; Keratitis/diagnosis/*drug therapy/*microbiology ; Tobramycin/administration & dosage