5-DAY RUFLOXACIN TREATMENT VERSUS 7-DAY CIPROFLOXACIN TREATMENT IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE EXACERBATIONS OF CHRONIC-BRONCHITIS - A RANDOMIZED STUDY

In a randomised, multicentre study, 179 hospitalised adults with bacte rial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis were given either rufloxacin 200mg once daily (loading dose of 400mg on day 1) [n = 90] or ciproflo xacin 500mg twice daily (n = 89), The duration of treatment was 5 days with rufloxacin and 7 days with ciprofloxacin. In pretreatment sputum samples a pathogen was isolated in 115 patients (64%), the most commo n isolates being Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis. On day 8, clinical cure or improvement was achi eved in 89% of the patients in the rufloxacin group and in 91% of the ciprofloxacin group; bacteriological cure was obtained in 79 and 82% o f the 2 groups, respectively. At 2-week follow-up, the clinical succes s rate was 92% with rufloxacin and 99% with ciprofloxacin: the bacteri ological success rate was 86 and 85%, respectively. Most of the failur es observed with both quinolones were caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Adverse events, mostly gastrointestinal-related, occurred in 9% of t he patients in both treatment groups. This study shows that 5-day trea tment with rufloxacin once daily is comparable with a conventional 7-d ay treatment with ciprofloxacin twice daily in patients with bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis caused by susceptible bacteria.