Sequential moxifloxacin therapy in the treatment of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections

Objective To evaluate the efficacy, safety and cost of sequential moxifloxacin therapy in treatment of lower respiratory tract bacterial infections compared with moxifloxacin injection.Methods A total of 88 patients with lower respiratory tract infection were randomly enrolled into 2 groups: moxifloxacin injection group (control group) and moxifloxacin injection followed by tablet (sequential group). Moxifloxacin was administered by intravenous infusion, 400 mg/250 mL once daily for 7-10 days in control group. In sequential group, moxifloxacin was given by intravenous infusion 400 mg/250 mL, once daily for 3-5 days, followed by oral administration at the same dose. The total treatment duration was also 7-10 days.Results The overall clinical efficacy rate and cure rate of sequential group were 88.6%, 65.9%, while the rates were 90.9%, 68.2% in control group. There was no significant difference (P0.05) between the tow groups. The bacterial eradication rate in the two groups was 93.7% and 94.4% respectively. There was also no significant difference (P0.05) between the tow groups. The average in-hospital cost per patient was 3 658 ± 456 RMB Yuan in sequential group and 6 825 ± 387 RMB Yuan in control group. The average hospital stay was 8.8±2.2 days in sequential group and 13.7±1.5 days in control group. The difference was statistically significant. The incidence of adverse drug reaction in both groups was low. No serious adverse drug reaction was identified. The regimens were well-tolerated during this study.Conclusions The sequential moxifloxacin therapy for lower respiratory tract infections is safe, effective, and cost-effective compared with full-course moxifloxacin infusion.