Lomefloxacin, a new fluoroquinolone. Studies on in vitro antimicrobial spectrum, potency, and development of resistance.

Lomefloxacin (NY-198; SC-47111), a potent new difluoroquinolone, was studied to compare its in vitro activity with that of other antimicrobials against 2194 clinical isolates. Lomefloxacin showed excellent inhibitory and bactericidal activity against strains of Enterobacteriaceae and inhibited greater than 99% of the isolates at a concentration of 4 micrograms/ml or less. Lomefloxacin exhibited good-to-moderate activity against strains of Acinetobacter (MIC90 4 micrograms/ml) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC90 8 micrograms/ml), but poor activity for Pseudomonas cepacia (MIC90 greater than 16 micrograms/ml). Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates, both oxacillin-susceptible and -resistant strains, were susceptible (MIC90 1 micrograms/ml) to lomefloxacin and the other fluoroquinolones. Strains of Haemophilus influenzae, (MIC90 less than or equal to 0.13 micrograms/ml) Neisseria gonorrhoeae (MIC90 less than or equal to 0.03 micrograms/ml), and Branhamella catarrhalis (MIC90 less than or equal to 0.03 micrograms/ml) were highly susceptible to lomefloxacin. Streptococcal isolates, especially viridans streptococci, were considerably less susceptible to the fluoroquinolones. Overall, lomefloxacin had comparable activity to norfloxacin, fleroxacin, and ofloxacin, and against many facultative anaerobes lomefloxacin was more active than imipenem, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, aztreonam, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and gentamicin. Development of resistance to lomefloxacin by spontaneous mutation was low and comparable to that of other fluoroquinolones. Growth in subinhibitory concentrations resulted in increased resistance to fluoroquinolones for selected test strains.