An American review confirms that levofloxacin is an effective treatment for community-acquired pneumonia

A review by staff at the University of California, Los Angeles, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care Medicine & Hospitalists, and the David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, have reviewed the use of new respiratory fluoroquinolones, like levofloxacin, versus ciprofloxacin. Levofloxacin has a broader spectrum of activity, improved Gram-positive activity, and improved pharmacokinetics, including high oral bioavailability. It has been investigated for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in a large number of randomized clinical trials.

The authors confirm that levofloxacin is safe and effective with only mild side effects and has a lot to offer with regard to bacterial eradication, including its effect on resistant respiratory pathogens. However, they advise prudence when prescribing because of the emergence of ciprofloxacin-resistant pathogens.

PMID: 17140350

Expert Rev. Anti Infect. Ther. 2006 Oct;4(5):725-42

Source : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=
pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17140350