The North American component (the United States and Canada) of an International Comparative MIC trial monitoring ofloxacin resistance.

Common lots of reference MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) method reagents were used to monitor ofloxacin, a newer fluoroquinolone, and 13 other drugs against 3200 recent clinical isolates in February-April 1992. Five medical centers in the United States and Canada contributed 640 strains per facility as follows: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, Klebsiella spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (100 strains each); Streptococcus pneumoniae (40 strains); and Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, Salmonella spp., Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis (20 strains each). Quality-control strains were processed concurrently, MICs recorded, and data processed at a common location. Selected ofloxacin-resistant isolates were retested at a reference laboratory to confirm resistances and determine cross-resistant patterns. Results indicate the following (a) fluoroquinolones were superior in usable spectrum of activity to other orally administered drugs (for example, cefaclor, cefixime, ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, minocycline, oxacillin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole); (b) ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were generally equal to gentamicin and cefotaxime against commonly isolated Gram-negative pathogens; (c) fluoroquinolone resistance was rare among enteric bacilli, pneumococci (ciprofloxacin > ofloxacin), H. influenzae, and M. catarrhalis, but more common among oxacillin-resistant staphylococci and P. aeruginosa; (d) cross resistance was generally observed between ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin but was species or genus dependent; and (e) a new fluoroquinolone, levofloxacin, demonstrated promising activity against contemporary pathogens.