In-vitro activity of temafloxacin against anaerobic bacteria: a comparative study

The antimicrobial activity of temafloxacin for 328 anaerobic bacteria was determined and compared to that of cefotetan, cefoxitin, ciprofloxacin and metronidazole. The Wadsworth agar dilution technique using Brucella-lysed sheep blood agar was used throughout. At the recommended breakpoint concentration 4 mg/L, temafloxacin inhibited 60/62 (97%) of the isolates of Bacteroides fragilis and 82/87 (94%) of the isolates of other species of the B. fragilis group. Ninety-six percent of the 24 isolates of Peptostreptococcus, 97% of the 31 isolates of other Bacteroides species and 88% of 66 isolates of Fusobacterium species were also inhibited by 4 mg/L temafloxacin. Metronidazole (breakpoint 16 mg/L) had a broader spectrum of activity than temafloxacin (judged by the percentage of strains tested susceptible at the breakpoints employed) with the exception of non-sporing Gram-positive bacilli. The cephalosporins tested (breakpoint 32 mg/L) had a narrower spectrum of activity. Ciprofloxacin (breakpoint 2 mg/L) was the least effective agent against the majority of the anaerobes tested.