Respiratory fluoroquinolones in outpatient clinical practice

Advancements in fluoroquinolones (FQ) resulted in the development of the so-called respiratory quinolones which are different from their predecessors in having a stronger clinically significant effect against gram-positive pathogens of relevant human infections. Broad antibacterial spectrum, resistance to certain factors of pathogen resistance and absence of cross-resistance formation, along with their unique pharmacokinetic characteristics, made respiratory FQ the drug of choice for quite a wide range of diseases, including in outpatient clinical practice. The review presents the results of epidemiological observations and qualitative clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of levofloxacin in the treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTI), urinary tract infection (UTI), infections of skin and soft tissues (ISST).