The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7218 p477
5 October 2002

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Antibiotic shows promise for treatment of chronic bronchitis

Moxifloxacin, a fluoroquinolone, achieves higher cure rates than amoxicillin, clarithromycin and cefuroxime when used for the treatment of chronic bronchitis, researchers report.

They randomly assigned 670 patients with an acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, from 16 countries, including the United Kingdom, to receive either moxifloxacin or one of amoxicillin, clarithromycin or cefuroxime (comparator arm).

Complete improvement of symptoms, including improvement in lung function and a reduction in purulent sputum production, was achieved in an average of 4.7 days in patients receiving five days treatment with moxifloxacin and in 5.8 days in those treated for seven days with an antibiotic from the comparator arm.

Data were presented at the European Respiratory Society annual congress held in Stockholm, last month.

Moxifloxacin has previously been shown to be superior to co-amoxiclav for the treatment of community acquired pneumonia (PJ, 1 June, p757).

Moxifloxacin, which is being developed by Bayer, is expected to be launched in the United Kingdom by the end of this year for acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, community acquired pneumonia and sinusitis where adequately diagnosed.