[Ofloxacin in the comprehensive therapy of complicated forms of wound infection]

A 5-year experience with the use of ofloxacin in the complex treatment of complicated wound infections showed that the drug had a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, was not toxic and well tolerated by the patients. The side effects were extremely rare. The antimicrobial activity of ofloxacin after its clinical use for 5 years did not practically change. The drug clinical and bacteriological efficacy in different groups of the patients ranged within 85-91 and 74-80 per cent respectively depending on the process severity. The failure of the therapy was as a rule associated with an insufficient surgical treatment of the purulent foci. It was more frequent in the patients with arteriosclerotic and diabetic gangrene of the lower extremities when due to various reasons the initial surgical operations were not radical. The short treatment courses (for not more than 5-7 days) or an early use of the drug tablets instead of the intravenous injections resulted from an insufficient experience with ofloxacin during the first years of its use. Such an unjustified tactics did not provide stable elimination of the pathogen. Our experience with ofloxacin in the treatment of various groups of patients with wound infections demonstrated that it should be considered as a reserve drug for the treatment of cases with complicated wound infections accompanied by infections of the respiratory and uropoietic organs requiring a long-term antibacterial therapy in hospitals and outpatient departments.