Clinical experience in Germany of treating community-acquired respiratory infections with the new 8-methoxyfluoroquinolone, moxifloxacin

Moxifloxacin, a new 8-methoxyfluoroquinolone, was evaluated in a large comm unity-based study involving 16 007 patients over a 9-month period. This stu dy was designed as a large post-marketing observational study of the speed, efficacy and tolerability of moxifloxacin when used in clinical practice f or the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, or acute exacer bations of chronic bronchitis. Physicians and patients were specifically qu estioned about overall efficacy and safety as well as symptom relief. Accor ding to physicians' assessments 96.3% of patients were cured or improved af ter moxifloxacin treatment. Symptom relief ('feeling better') occurred in a lmost 70% of patients by day 3 and only 2.3% reported an adverse drug react ion. No individual adverse drug reaction was reported at a frequency above 1%. Among the 209 events considered as serious, only 34 were regarded as po ssibly or probably related to therapy. There were no moxifloxacin-related c linically relevant cases of phototoxicity, hepatotoxicity or cardiotoxicity . Overall, 92.1% of patients considered moxifloxacin to have been beneficia l.