Bacteria building resistance to moxifloxacin

Although moxifloxacin has excellent antibacterial coverage, there is an emergence of a resistance to it in bacteria isolated from corneal ulcers, according to Gita Sathpathy and co-workers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Dehli, India.

The records of 934 consecutive cases of bacterial corneal ulcers were retrospectively reviewed and culture and antibiotic sensitivity reports of corneal scrapings were analysed. Recorded parameters included age, sex, organism isolated and sensitivity, using Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion, to moxifloxacin. The bacterial isolates that were resistant to moxifloxacin were examined in detail and their antibiotic sensitivity to other drugs was studied.

Of the 934 bacterial isolates, 913 (97.5%) were sensitive to moxifloxacin and 21 (2.25%) were found to be resistant. Of the 21 resistant isolates, eight were Staphylococcus albus, eight were Pseudomonas, two were Streptococcus viridians, one was Streptococcus pneumoniae, one was Staphylococcus aureus and one was E. coli. Of the eight Pseudomonas cases, six were found to be sensitive to polymyxin and five sensitive to amikacin. Out of the eight Staphylococcus, seven were sensitive to vancomycin.

The emergence of a resistance to moxifloxacin in bacteria isolated from corneal ulcers, indicates that the drug should not be used indiscriminately.