Infection and Drug Resistance (May 2019)
Comparison of high-dose, short-course levofloxacin treatment vs conventional regimen against acute bacterial infection: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Abstract
Chih-Wei Chen,1,2 Yu-Hung Chen,3 I-Ling Cheng,3 Chih-Cheng Lai41Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; 2Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Institute of Industrial Safety and Disaster Prevention, College of Sustainable Environment, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan, Taiwan; 3Department of Pharmacy, Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying, Taiwan; 4Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying, TaiwanObjects: This meta-analysis aims to assess the efficacy and safety of high-dose, short-dose levofloxacin in comparison with conventional therapy on treating acute bacterial infection.Methods: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane database were searched up to September 2018. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating high-dose, short-course levofloxacin and conventional regimen in the treatment of acute bacterial infection were included. The primary outcomes were clinical responses, microbiologic eradication and adverse effects.Results: Seven RCTs of 3,731 patients (1,835 in the high-dose, short-course levofloxacin regimen group and 1,896 in the conventional regimen group) were included. Overall, no significant difference between the high-dose, short-course levofloxacin regimen group and the conventional regimen was found in terms of clinical response (risk ratio, RR: 1.01; 95%CI: 0.98–1.04, I2,=10%). In addition, the high-dose, short-course levofloxacin regimen had a similar microbiological eradication rate to conventional regimen (RR: 1.02; 95%CI: 0.98–1.06, I2,=0%). Moreover, the high-dose, short-course levofloxacin regimen had a similar incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events to conventional regimen (RR: 1.07; 95%CI: 0.99–1.17, I2,=0%). This trend was not affected by the different types of infections—community-acquired pneumonia, complicated urinary tract infection/acute pyelonephritis or acute sinusitis, different conventional regimen—levofloxacin (500 mg daily for 7–14 days) or ciprofloxacin (400 mg IV or 500 mg oral, twice daily for 10 days).Conclusion: High-dose, short-course levofloxacin exhibits similar clinical success and microbiologic eradication rates with conventional regimen in the treatment of acute bacterial infection. Moreover, the high-dose, short-course levofloxacin regimen was well tolerated and had comparable safety profiles with the conventional regimen.Keywords: levofloxacin, acute bacterial infection, community-acquired pneumonia, complicated urinary tract infection, acute sinusitis
