Items in AFP with MESH term: Fluoroquinolones
ABSTRACT: Boxed warnings, commonly referred to as 'black box' warnings, are issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and featured in the labeling of drugs associated with serious adverse reactions. These safety concerns are typically identified through the Adverse Event Reporting System and the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, which evaluates postmarket safety findings. The most common type of warning is issued when there is a potentially serious adverse effect that must be carefully weighed against the potential benefit of the drug. Warnings are also issued to draw attention to dosing, monitoring requirements, and potential drug interactions. Boxed warnings have been issued recently for oral sodium phosphate bowel preparations, fluoroquinolone antibiotics, and salmeterol. Despite these highly publicized warnings, all of these medications remain viable treatment options with appropriate patient selection. Ultimately, physicians must decide whether to prescribe drugs with boxed warnings.
ABSTRACT: The newer fluoroquinolones have broad-spectrum bactericidal activity, excellent oral bioavailability, good tissue penetration and favorable safety and tolerability profiles. A new four-generation classification of the quinolone drugs takes into account the expanded antimicrobial spectrum of the more recently introduced fluoroquinolones and their clinical indications. First-generation drugs (e.g., nalidixic acid) achieve minimal serum levels. Second-generation quinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin) have increased gram-negative and systemic activity. Third-generation drugs (e.g., levofloxacin) have expanded activity against gram-positive bacteria and atypical pathogens. Fourth-generation quinolone drugs (currently only trovafloxacin) add significant activity against anaerobes. The quinolones can be differentiated within classes based on their pharmacokinetic properties. The new classification can help family physicians prescribe these drugs appropriately.
Topical Fluoroquinolones for Eye and Ear - Article
ABSTRACT: Topical fluoroquinolones are now available for use in the eye and ear. Their broad spectrum of activity includes the common eye and ear pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. For the treatment of acute otitis externa, these agents are as effective as previously available otic preparations. For the treatment of otitis media with tympanic membrane perforation, topical fluoroquinolones are effective and safe. These preparations are approved for use in children, and lack of ototoxicity permits prolonged administration when necessary. Topical fluoroquinolones are not appropriate for the treatment of uncomplicated conjunctivitis where narrower spectrum agents suffice; they represent a simplified regimen for the treatment of bacterial keratitis (corneal ulcers). When administered topically, fluoroquinolones are well tolerated and offer convenient dosing schedules. Currently, bacterial resistance appears limited.
ABSTRACT: Community-acquired pneumonia is diagnosed by clinical features (e.g., cough, fever, pleuritic chest pain) and by lung imaging, usually an infiltrate seen on chest radiography. Initial evaluation should determine the need for hospitalization versus outpatient management using validated mortality or severity prediction scores. Selected diagnostic laboratory testing, such as sputum and blood cultures, is indicated for inpatients with severe illness but is rarely useful for outpatients. Initial outpatient therapy should include a macrolide or doxycycline. For outpatients with comorbidities or who have used antibiotics within the previous three months, a respiratory fluoroquinolone (levofloxacin, gemifloxacin, or moxifloxacin), or an oral beta-lactam antibiotic plus a macrolide should be used. Inpatients not admitted to an intensive care unit should receive a respiratory fluoroquinolone, or a beta-lactam antibiotic plus a macrolide. Patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia or who are admitted to the intensive care unit should be treated with a beta-lactam antibiotic, plus azithromycin or a respiratory fluoroquinolone. Those with risk factors for Pseudomonas should be treated with a beta-lactam antibiotic (piperacillin/tazobactam, imipenem/cilastatin, meropenem, doripenem, or cefepime), plus an aminoglycoside and azithromycin or an antipseudomonal fluoroquinolone (levofloxacin or ciprofloxacin). Those with risk factors for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus should be given vancomycin or linezolid. Hospitalized patients may be switched from intravenous to oral antibiotics after they have clinical improvement and are able to tolerate oral medications, typically in the first three days. Adherence to the Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia has been shown to improve patient outcomes. Physicians should promote pneumococcal and influenza vaccination as a means to prevent community-acquired pneumonia and pneumococcal bacteremia.
ABSTRACT: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common inherited cause of kidney disease. Enlarging cysts within the kidneys are the clinical hallmark of the disease. Renal manifestations include varying degrees of kidney injury, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, and hematuria. Extrarenal manifestations can include pain, hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, hepatic cysts, intracranial aneurysm, diverticulosis, and abdominal and inguinal hernias. The progression of ADPKD cannot be reversed with current treatment modalities; therefore, therapies target the resulting clinical manifestations. Early detection and management of hypertension are important to delay the progression of renal dysfunction and development of cardiovascular complications. Pain management includes evaluation of concomitant illnesses, use of analgesics, and adjuvant therapy. Fluoroquinolones may be the most useful class of antibiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infections because of their lipophilic properties and bactericidal action against gram-negative pathogens. Nephrolithiasis is twice as common in persons with ADPKD compared with the general population and is suggested by flank pain with or without hematuria. Cystic hemorrhages usually resolve within one week, although microscopic hematuria may still be present. Because of the proliferative effect of estrogen on hepatic cysts, oral contraceptives containing estrogen and menopausal estrogen therapy should be administered at the lowest effective dose or avoided in patients with ADPKD. Intracranial aneurysms are at least twice as common in patients with ADPKD than in the general population. Renal ultrasonography is the diagnostic modality of choice to screen at-risk individuals for ADPKD.