In vitro Activity of Gemifloxacin against some Clinical Bacterial Isolates of Urinary Tract Infections

Background: Gemifloxacin is a third generation fluoroquinolone with broad spectrum antimicrobial andenhanced activity against both aerobic and anaerobic Gram positive bacteria. It is recommended for thetreatment of respiratory tract infections.Objectives: This study evaluated and compared the antibacterial activity of gemifloxacin with ciprofloxacin;ofloxacin and norfloxacin using minimum inhibition concentration assays against Staphylococcus aureus;Escherichia coli; Alcaligenes faecalis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Serratia marcescens; Enterobacteraerogenes; Proteus vulgaris and Klebseilla pneumoniae obtained from urine samples of patients.Methods: The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) evaluations were employed for the comparativestudies and zones of inhibition assay were further used to determine the antibacterial activity ofgemifloxacin. For the MIC evaluations; final nutrient agar concentrations of 5; 7.5; 10; 15; 20; 25 and30?g/ml of gemifloxacin; ciprofloxacin; ofloxacin; and norfloxacin were used. For the zones of inhibitionassay; 0.2ml of the MICs (7.5; 10; 15; 25 and 30 ?g/ml) of gemifloxacin against particular bacterium wasused. Results: The MICs of gemifloxacin were 7.5?g/ml for Proteus vulgaris; 10?g/ml for Staphylococcus aureusand Enterobacter aerogenes; 15?g/ml for E. coli; 20?g/ml for Pseudomonas aeruginosa; 25?g/ml forKlebsiella pneumonia and 30?g/ml for Alcaligenes faecalis and Serratia marcescens. The clinical isolateswere most sensitive to ofloxacin with MICs of 7.5?g/ml for Proteus vulgaris and 10?g/ml for the otherisolates. The isolates were least susceptible to norfloxacin with MICs of 10?g/ml for Proteus vulgaris and30?g/ml for the other isolates.The results show that the clinical isolates were most sensitive to ofloxacin followed by gemifloxacin;ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin respectively.Conclusion: Although gemifloxacin is not currently strongly recommended for urinary tract infections; thisstudy has shown that it possesses antibacterial activity against the clinical isolates obtained from urinesamples of patients with urinary tract infections and could have a place in the treatment of urinary tractinfections caused by the organisms

In-Vitro Adsorption of Fluoroquinolones on Some Pharmaceutical Adsorbents

PURPOSE: Drug overdose and poisoning are common clinical problems and could occur with the fluoroquinolones -a new series of synthetic antimicrobial agents. It therefore becomes important to study the adsorption of the fluoroquinolones on pharmaceutical adsorbents which could serve as possible antidotes for the emergency treatment of fluoroquinolone overdose or poisoning when they occur. METHOD: The rate and extent of adsorption of the fluoroquinolones on some pharmaceutical adsorbents; namely activated charcoal; kaolin and bentonite were investigated spectrophotometrically RESULTS: The fluoroquinolones adsorbed on activated charcoal rapidly and attained equilibrium within fifteen minutes. The fluoroquinolones however adsorbed on kaolin and bentonite less rapidly and attained equilibrium within two hours. Activated charcoal and bentonite had high adsorption capacities for the fluoroquinolones while kaolin had low adsorption capacities for them. CONCLUSION: Because of the rapid rate of adsorption and high binding capacities exhibited by activated charcoal for the fluoroquinolones; it could be an effective antidote for the fluoroquinolones in cases of overdose or poisoning. Activated charcoal has shown a superior behaviour to both bentonite and kaolin in the adsorption of the fluoroquinolones