Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (1999) 43, Suppl. C, 1-3
© 1999 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
The susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae to levofloxacin and other antibiotics
The Chaim Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Aviv University, School of Medicine, Tel-Hashomer 52621, Israel
The aim of this study was to determine the in-vitro susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae to levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin, ofloxacin, amoxycillin, cefepime and cefuroxime. In total, 105 isolates (clinical blood and sputum isolates from 1995–96) were selected from the collection of the Department of Clinical Microbiology of the Chaim Sheba Medical Centre. MICs were determined with an agar dilution method according to NCCLS guidelines. The MIC ranges with the test antibiotics against the pneumococcal isolates were: 0.5 mg/L, levofloxacin; 0.12–0.5 mg/L, sparfloxacin; 0.5–2 mg/L, ciprofloxacin; 0.5–1 mg/L, ofloxacin; <0.03–2 mg/L, amoxycillin; <0.03–2 mg/L, cefepime; <0.03–2 mg/L, cefuroxime. The results indicated that although all isolates were susceptible to all the fluoroquinolone agents except ciprofloxacin, some isolates had reduced susceptibility to amoxycillin, cefepime and cefuroxime. We conclude that all S. pneumoniae isolates tested were susceptible to levofloxacin, ofloxacin and sparfloxacin. However, about 85% were susceptible to amoxycillin and the other ß-lactam antibiotics tested.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +972-3-530-2304; Fax: +972-3-534-7081; E-mail: kellern{at}inter.net.il