Anti-anaerobic activity of antibacterial agents

The first very effective bactericidal anti-anaerobic drug was metronidazole , introduced in clinical practice in the early 1980s. Sometimes penicillin G and chloramphenicol were used successfully in some anaerobic infections. However, this result was most likely due to Gram-positive anaerobic infecti ons (e.g., Clostridium perfringens). Very rapidly, the anti-anaerobic armam entarium was extended with clindamycin, cefoxitin, imipenem and co-amoxycla v or piperacillin-tazobactam. The resistance rate to metronidazole and imip enem remains low but clindamycin has seen an importance decrease in bacteri al susceptibility. New additional drugs could be very helpful to overcome r esistance and adverse events. The novelties in this field are fluoroquinolo nes, which exhibit a good activity against Gram-positive cocci and anaerobe s.