Comparative chemotherapeutic activity of temafloxacin, cefoxitin, clindamycin, imipenem and ampicillin/sulbactam against Bacteroides fragilis in a mouse subcutaneous abscess model.

The new fluorinated 4-quinolone temafloxacin was compared with cefoxitin, clindamycin, imipenem (with or without cilastatin) and ampicillin/sulbactam in a mouse subcutaneous abscess model of Bacteroides fragilis infection. Based upon in-vitro susceptibility data, temafloxacin may represent an effective oral and parenteral alternative to standard oral and parenteral anti-anaerobic agents currently in use. Temafloxacin therapy with dosage regimens of < 200 mg/kg/day typically yielded 2-3 x log10 reductions in cfu/abscess, similar to ampicillin/sulbactam, while cefoxitin and clindamycin were generally unable to produce similar reductions at doses up to 400 mg/kg/day. Imipenem (with or without cilastatin) was unable to produce a 1 x log10 reduction at doses of 400 mg/kg/day. This study suggests that temafloxacin has potential for the treatment of anaerobic or mixed aerobic-anaerobic infections in man.