Laboratory and clinical studies on sparfloxacin

We performed laboratory and clinical studies on sparfloxacin (SPFX), a new oral pyridonecarboxylic acid antimicrobial, with the following results. 1 ) Bacteriological evaluation The MIC₉₉₀values of SPFX determined for the clinical isolates were as follows: Staphylococcus aureus 0.39 ; Enterococcus faecalis 0. 78 ; Escherichia coli <= 0.05 ; Citrobacter freundii 1.56 ; Klebsiella pneumoniae 0. 39 ; Enterobacter cloacae 0.10 ; Enterobacter aerogenes 0.78 ; Serratia marcescens 12.5 ; Proteus vulgaris 0.39 ; Proteus mirabilis 3.13 ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa 100 ; Acinetobacter calcoaceticus 0. 20 μg/ml. These values of SPFX were lower as compared with the other 3 quinolones for Gram-positive cocci and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus except for Proteus spp. In contrast, the values of SPFX were equal or slightly higher than those of CPFX, but lower than the other 2 quinolones for the other Gram-negative rods. 2 ) Clinical evaluation The clinical efficacy of SPFX was evaluated for a total of 25 patients, 4 with pneumonia, 6 with bronchitis, 1 with bronchitis and cystitis, 3 with pharyngitis, 2 with lymphadenitis (suspected), 1 with infectious atheroma, 6 with cystitis and 2 with bacillary dysentery. The patients consisted of 5 males and 20 females aged 20 to 92 years, and most of them had underlying diseases. The main isolated pathogens were Haemophilus influenzae in respiratory diseases and Escherichia coli in urinary tract infections. The clinical efficacy of SPFX in the dosage regimen of 50 to 300 mg, once to 2 times daily for 2 to 25 days, was : excellent in 15 cases, good in 9, poor in 1, and unknown in 1, the efficacy rate being 96.0%. The side effects observed in 3 cases were soft stool, anorexia and diarrhea/headache/diaphoresis. An increase in eosinophil count was observed in two cases in the laboratory testing.