[Latest news on fluoroquinolones]

THE AIMS OF NEW FLUOROQUINOLONES: Are to widen the antimicrobial spectrum and eventually reach anaerobic bacteria, to increase the activity on resistant Gram positive bacteria and to enhance the affinity of the molecule for the target enzymes of the bacteria THE EXPECTATIONS WITH THE NEW QUINOLONES: Globally, the tests conducted show far superior activity than that of the agents used for comparison. CONCERNING THE OLDER FLUOROQUINOLONES: Despite the threat of emergence of resistance in pneumococci, questions are raised on the clinical correspondence of the microbiological data obtained, notably with the rates of therapeutic failure, observed in patients exhibiting strains with supposedly high MICs.