Reports from the Field: Investigational antibiotic zaps bronchitis
Reports from the Field: Investigational antibiotic zaps bronchitis
An investigational antibiotic, Factive (gemifloxacin mesylate), developed by SmithKline Beecham in Philadelphia, eradicated
the bacterium H. influenzae after one day of treatment of airway infections in patients with chronic bronchitis, according to a study presented recently at the 40th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Toronto.
"Impressively, the bacteria were eradicated after just one day with just one dose of Factive," says Thomas File, MD, professor of internal medicine at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and chief of infectious disease at Summa Health System in Akron, OH. "These results support the efficacy of five-day treatment of Factive compared to seven-day treatment with clarithromycin (Biaxin) in treating bacterial respiratory tract infections in patients with chronic bronchitis."
A double-blind, active-controlled study of 709 patients compared the efficacy of five-day treatment with gemifloxacin mesylate (320 mg once daily) to seven-day treatment with clarithromycin (500 mg twice daily) in patients with airway infections due to chronic bronchitis. For all patients with documented bacterial infections at study enrollment, the success rates at follow-up evaluation at week five were 81.8% with Factive vs. 62% with Biaxin.
In addition, researchers found that bacterial eradication occurred on day one of treatment following one dose of Factive, compared with evidence of H. influenzae in Biaxin patients through day seven.
"It is important to treat respiratory infections with an effective therapy that can eradicate bacteria quickly," says File.
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