COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF SPARFLOXACIN VERSUS CIPROFLOXACIN IN THE TREATMENT OF COMPLICATED URINARY-TRACT INFECTION

A total of 686 adult patients with complicated urinary tract infection s were enrolled in a double-blind, randomised, multicentre study to co mpare sparfloxacin (200 mg loading dose on day 1 followed by 100 mg da ily) with ciprofloxacin (500 mg orally twice daily) for 10 to 14 days. Urinary tract infection was defined as pyuria and bacteriuria (cfu gr eater than or equal to 10(5)/mL). Evaluations were performed at four t ime-points. The clinical efficacy of the two antibacterial agents was equivalent at the end of treatment: clinical cure in 88.6% of the inte nt-to-treat population and 87.3% in the evaluable population treated w ith sparfloxacin compared to 85.4% and 84.8% of the intent-to-treat an d evaluable populations, respectively, treated with ciprofloxacin. The clinical results were also equivalent at follow-up. The bacteriologic al efficacy of the two agents was not equivalent. At the end of treatm ent, bacteriological cure was observed in 72.6% of the intent-to-treat and 72.1% of the evaluable populations treated with sparfloxacin and in 81.4% and 80.8% of the intent-to-treat and evaluable populations, r espectively, treated with ciprofloxacin. The difference was primarily because of a higher number of persisting pathogens, which included Ent erobacteriaceae other than Escherichia coil, Pseudomonas aeruginosa an d enterococci, which exhibited moderate susceptibility to sparfloxacin . Tolerability was similar in the two treatment groups.