[Bactericidal activity of sitafloxacin and other new quinolones against antimicrobial resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae].

We conducted a study assess the bactericidal activity of sitafloxacin (STFX) against Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates recovered from respiratory infections including penicillin-resistant (PRSP) isolates, macrolide resistant isolates possessing mefA and ermB resistance genes and quinolone resistance isolates with mutations in gyrA or gyrA and parC. Each isolate tested was grown in hemosupplemented Mueller-Hinton broth and adjusted to approximately 10(5) CFU/ mL. Isolates were than exposed to a Cmax antimicrobial blood level that would be attained with routine antimicrobial administration and an antimicrobial level that would be expected 4 hours post-Cmax (Cmax 4hr). Bactericidal activity was measured for up to 8 hours. Excluding a subset of S. pneumoniae isolates with mutations in the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR), all quinolones showed bactericidal activity at Cmax and Cmax 4 hr antimicrobial concentrations for up to 8 hours. Against S. pneumoniae isolates with either gyrA or gyrA and parC mutations, bactericidal activity of STFX was shown for up to 4 to 8 hours following Cmax based on a limit of detection of < 1.3 log CFU/mL. Garenoxacin (GRNX) did not showed bactericidal activity below the limit of detection for up to 8 hours with exposure to Cmax and no bactericidal activity was seen with levofloxacin. When all quinolones tested where adjusted to concentrations corresponding to their MICs, STFX showed the most rapid bactericidal activity against PRSP. This rapid bactericidal activity in PRSP is a key to the effectiveness of STFX. Our findings show that beyond inhibition of bacterial replication by blocking their DNA replication pathway and synthesis of proteins, STFX demonstrated characteristics contributing to greater bactericidal activity compared to GRNX. In conclusion, of the newer quinolones, STFX showed the strongest bactericidal activity against S. pneumoniae isolates with mutations in the QRDR which indicates that it may show the most effective clinical utility among the quinolones in respiratory infections.