High-dose levofloxacin treatment shown to be a safe and effective treatment for community-acquired pneumonia

The standard treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) involves the combination of a beta-lactam penicillin, or a cephalosporin, with a macrolide. However, single agent high-dose levofloxacin has been used as an alternative.
This study, carried out by staff in the Department of Internal Medicine, Ewha Womans’ University, Seoul, Korea, has compared the safety and efficacy of high-dose levofloxacin with a combination of ceftriaxone and azithromycin. The study had a phase IV, prospective, randomized, open-label design and was carried out over the period 2010-2011. A total of 40 patients were enrolled and 36 completed the study. The clinical success rate in the levofloxacin group was 94% versus 84% in the comparison group and there was no difference in the rate of adverse events between the two groups. The authors call for a large-scale clinical trial to confirm their results.

Clin Drug Investig. 2012 Jul 5. [Epub ahead of print]

Source : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22765645?dopt=Abstract