Avoiding fluoroquinolone resistance. Strategies for primary care practice.

The therapeutic usefulness of fluroquinolones for serious and difficult-to-treat infections is well documented. However, with increasing reports of organisms becoming resistant to the agents (most often the pseudomonads, staphylococci, and streptococci), the usefulness of this class of antibiotics is being threatened. Appropriate and judicious prescribing of this class of antimicrobials can greatly aid in preserving the therapeutic value of fluoroquinolones for the treatment of infections in the future.