Once daily versus every two week multidose ofloxacin in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic respiratory disease

Two different oral ofloxacin regimens, daily single-dose treatment with 200 mg (Regimen I) and every two week multidose treatment with 3×200 mg/day (Regimen II), were compared to evaluate the efficacy of quinolone regimens in controlling acute exacerbations of chronic respiratory tract infections. Fifty-one patients were evaluated in the study: 28 in Regimen I and 23 in Regimen II. The corrected mean incidence of exacerbation per case during the six months before and during the study was reduced from 2.45 to 0.48 in Regimen I, and from 2.79 to 1.0 in Regimen II. The development of resistant strains was not found to be a problem. We conclude that the long-term administration of new quinolones, especially the daily single-dose regimen with 200 mg of ofloxacin, is useful in controlling acute exacerbations of chronic respiratory tract infections.