Oral levofloxacin in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia.

We evaluated the efficacy of oral levofloxacin (500mg/day for 7-21 days) in the treatment of 20 adults patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring hospitalization in an open prospective study. The microbiological cause of the pneumonia was identified in 14/20 patients using lower respiratory tract secretions obtained by bronchoscopy (12) and/or blood culture (2). Eight patients had S. pneumoniae, 2 P.aeruginosa, 1 H.influenzae, 1 S.aureus, 1 mixed S. aureus and K.pneumoniae, and 1 E.coli and Grp.D Streptococcus. All of the patients evaluated were judged to be improved or cured. Levofloxacin is an additional option as monotherapy for the treatment of CAP.