In vitro antimicrobial activity of gatifloxacin against 873 clinical isolates from respiratory tract, urinary tract and surgical infections during 1997–1998 in Japan

Youko Tsurumaki*, Hinako Manda, Masaya Takei and Masaki Hosaka

Central Research Laboratories, Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, 2399-1 Mitarai, Nogi, Shimotsuga, Tochigi 329-0114, Japan


    Abstract
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 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results and discussion
 References
 
The in vitro activity of gatifloxacin was determined for 873 isolates from various infections during 1997–1998 in Japan. Gatifloxacin was active against streptococci, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, with MIC90s of <=0.39 mg/L. The activity was two- to 32-fold greater than that of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin against Gram-positive bacteria, and comparable to that against Gram-negative bacteria. Gatifloxacin was more active than the other quinolones against quinolone-resistant staphylococci, Enterococcus faecalis, E. coli and Enterobacter cloacae. It also had good activity against penicillin- or macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and ampicillin-resistant H. influenzae.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results and discussion
 References
 
The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, for example methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, penicillin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae, vancomycin resistance in enterococci and ampicillin resistance in Haemophilus influenzae, has become a serious problem.13 Quinolones are active against Gram-positive and -negative bacteria and have been used in the treatment of various infections, but resistance to these agents has been demonstrated in many bacterial species.4

Gatifloxacin, a new 8-methoxyquinolone, has a broad spectrum of activity with expanded potency against Gram-positive cocci.58 In this study, we examined the in vitro activity of gatifloxacin against recent clinical pathogens isolated from patients with respiratory tract, urinary tract or surgical infections in Japan, and compared it with that of other quinolones and structurally unrelated antimicrobial agents.


    Materials and methods
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 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results and discussion
 References
 
Antibacterial agents

Gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin and sparfloxacin were synthesized at Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (Tokyo, Japan). Oxacillin, penicillin G, ampicillin, cefaclor and minocycline were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St Louis, MO, USA), and clarithromycin was obtained from Dainabot Co., Ltd (Tokyo, Japan).

Bacterial strains

All 873 clinical strains used in this study were isolated from patients with respiratory tract, urinary tract or surgical infections during 1997–1998 in Japan.

Susceptibility testing

MICs were determined by a two-fold agar dilution method with Mueller–Hinton medium (Difco, Detroit, MI, USA) and an inoculum of approximately 1 x 104 cfu/spot as recommended by the Japan Society of Chemotherapy.9 This medium was supplemented with 5% defibrinated horse blood for streptococci, Enterococcus faecalis and Moraxella catarrhalis, and with 5% Fildes extract (Oxoid, Basingstoke, UK) for H. influenzae. Chocolate agar was used for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. H. influenzae and N. gonorrhoeae were incubated in a CO2 incubator. For the detection of methicillin-resistant staphylococci, oxacillin was used with salt agar (2% NaCl) incubated at 32°C. ß-Lactamase production was assessed using nitrocefin-impregnated sticks (Oxoid).


    Results and discussion
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 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results and discussion
 References
 
The TableGo shows the in vitro activities of gatifloxacin against recent isolates from respiratory (A), urinary tract (B) and surgical (C) infections.


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Table. Antibacterial activity of gatifloxacin against recent clinical isolates in Japan
 
The MIC90s of gatifloxacin for methicillin-susceptible staphylococci were 0.20 mg/L for respiratory tract pathogens, 1.56–25 mg/L for urinary tract pathogens and 0.10–1.56 mg/L for surgical pathogens. The activity against methicillin-resistant S. aureus was lower than that against methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). Gatifloxacin inhibited all isolates of S. pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes at 0.78 mg/L. The MIC90 for uropathogenic E. faecalis was 25 mg/L (none of the E. faecalis strains were resistant to vancomycin). Gatifloxacin was two- to 32-fold more active than levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin and its activity against Gram-positive cocci was comparable to that of sparfloxacin.

The activity of gatifloxacin against Enterobacteriaceae was comparable to that of the other quinolones. All isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae from respiratory tract infections were inhibited at 0.78 mg/L of gatifloxacin. The MIC90s for Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 3.13 mg/L for respiratory and surgical pathogens and 100 mg/L for uropathogens. H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis were highly susceptible to gatifloxacin, with MIC90s of 0.025 and 0.05 mg/L, respectively. The activity of gatifloxacin was two- to four-fold higher than that of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin against N. gonorrhoeae. Gatifloxacin activity was roughly comparable to that of the other quinolones against Gram-negative organisms.

In this study, gatifloxacin showed potent in vitro antibacterial activity against the majority of recent Japanese clinical isolates of MSSA, streptococci, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, M. catarrhalis, H. influenzae and N. gonorrhoeae. In particular, all isolates of H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae and M. catarrhalis, major causative pathogens of respiratory infections, were susceptible to<=0.39 mg/L of gatifloxacin.

We determined the MIC of gatifloxacin for recent clinical isolates from various clinical fields separately. Compared with the respiratory or surgical pathogens, most of the isolates from urinary tract infections were less susceptible to quinolones. This decline in the susceptibility of urinary isolates could be associated with the selection of resistant mutants caused by exposure to the drug.

Highly quinolone-resistant strains were observed in staphylococci, E. faecalis, the Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa. Gatifloxacin was more potent than the other quinolones against these resistant strains, except for P. aeruginosa, while it showed comparable activity against quinolone-susceptible Gram-positive and/or -negative strains. The finding that quinolone-resistant strains showed incomplete cross-resistance to gatifloxacin suggests a difference in the mode of action between gatifloxacin and other quinolones. Fukuda et al.7 have reported that gatifloxacin is more potent than other quinolones against quinolone-resistant S. aureus possessing mutations in grlA and gyrA, encoding the quinolone target enzymes topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase, respectively, and overproducing NorA protein, which functions as an efflux pump. The findings obtained in this study with clinical isolates are consistent with the results of Fukuda et al.7

Of 42 S. pneumoniae strains, eight (19%) were resistant to penicillin G (MIC>=0.78 mg/L), six (14%) to clarithromycin (MIC>=1.56 mg/L) and 29 (69%) to minocycline (MIC>=1.56 mg/L). Gatifloxacin showed good activity against S. pneumoniae strains resistant to these drugs; it also showed good activity against seven strains of ampicillin-resistant H. influenzae (MIC of ampicillin>=1.56 mg/L, one of which was ß-lactamase positive) with MICs of 0.0125–0.25 mg/L.

The maximum serum concentration of gatifloxacin is 1.71 mg/L and its elimination half-life is 7–8 h, with a mean peak urinary concentration of 240 mg/L after a single oral administration of 200 mg in humans.10 The in vitro antibacterial activity of gatifloxacin described in this study, together with its favourable pharmacokinetic profile, indicate that gatifloxacin may be useful in the treatment of infections caused by various pathogens, including drug-resistant strains.


    Acknowledgments
 
The authors would like to thank Hideyuki Fukuda and Yasuo Oomori for their critical review of the manuscript.


    Notes
 
* Corresponding author. Tel: +81-280-562201; Fax: +81-280-571293; E-mail: fvbb0984{at}mb.infoweb.ne.jp Back


    References
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 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results and discussion
 References
 
1 . Jones, R. N. (1996). Impact of changing pathogens and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in the treatment of serious infections in hospitalized patients. American Journal of Medicine 100, Suppl. 6A, S3–12.[Medline]

2 . Ubukata, K., Asahi, Y., Okuzumi, K. & Konno, M. (1996). Incidence of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Japan. The working group for penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae. Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy 1, 177–84.

3 . Seki, H., Kasahara, Y., Ohta, K., Yachie, A., Saikawa, Y., Sumita, R. et al. (1999). Increasing prevalence of ampicillin-resistant, non- ß-lactamase-producing strains of Haemophilus influenzae in children in Japan. Chemotherapy 45, 15–21.[ISI][Medline]

4 . Jones, R. N., Beach, M. L., Pfaller, M. A. & Doern, G. V. (1998). Antimicrobial activity of gatifloxacin tested against 1676 strains of ciprofloxacin-resistant gram-positive cocci isolated from patient infections in North and South America. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease 32, 247–52.[ISI][Medline]

5 . Hosaka, M., Yasue, T., Fukuda, H., Tomizawa, H., Aoyama, H. & Hirai, K. (1992). In vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of AM-1155, a new 6-fluoro-8-methoxy quinolone. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 36, 2108–17.[Abstract]

6 . Wakabayashi, E. & Mitsuhashi, S. (1994). In vitro antibacterial activity of AM-1155, a novel 6-fluoro-8-methoxy quinolone. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 38, 594–601.[Abstract]

7 . Fukuda, H., Hori, S. & Hiramatsu, K. (1998). Antibacterial activity of gatifloxacin (AM-1155, CG5501, BMS-206584), a newly developed fluoroquinolone, against sequentially acquired quinolone-resistant mutants and the norA transformant of Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 42, 1917–22.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

8 . Kato, N., Kato, H., Tanaka-Bandoh, K., Watanabe, K. & Ueno, K. (1997). Comparative in-vitro and in-vivo activity of AM-1155 against anaerobic bacteria. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 40, 631–7.[Abstract]

9 . Japan Society of Chemotherapy. (1981). Standard method of MIC determinations. Chemotherapy 29, 76–9.

10 . Nakashima, M., Uematsu, T., Kosuge, K., Kusajima, H., Ooie, T., Masuda, Y. et al. (1995). Single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of AM-1155, a new 6-fluoro-8-methoxy quinolone, in humans. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 39, 2635–40.[Abstract]

Received 15 July 1999; returned 14 October 1999; revised 24 November 1999; accepted 13 December 1999