Use of ciprofloxacin in cystic fibrosis patients.

In order to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of oral ciprofloxacin in the treatment of acute pulmonary exacerbations of cystic fibrosis and trace the possible development of resistance over time, three trials were conducted. In an open-label, uncontrolled trial, 25 courses of ciprofloxacin were administered to 16 patients. Efficacy and safety were assessed based on changes in short-term clinical scores, white blood cell counts, Pseudomonas aeruginosa counts in sputum, pulmonary function tests, and standard serum chemistries and urinalysis that were performed before therapy, weekly during therapy, at the end of therapy, and at a seven-day follow-up visit after therapy. In an open-label, randomized, controlled study, the efficacy and tolerance of oral ciprofloxacin were compared with those of intravenous tobramycin and azlocillin. In another study, the rate of susceptibility of P. aeruginosa isolated from cystic fibrosis patients during more than two years of clinical use was determined. In the uncontrolled trial, ciprofloxacin therapy was associated with clinical improvement in most cases with changes in short-term clinical score and forced expiratory volume in one second being statistically significant (p less than 0.05). Twenty-five patients were entered in the controlled trial with 12 patients in each treatment group being evaluable. The groups were comparable based on admitting demographic and disease characteristics, and no differences in therapeutic response or side effects were noted between the two treatments (p greater than 0.5). Bacterial susceptibility to ciprofloxacin has remained relatively stable over time. Based on these results as well as those from similar evaluations, ciprofloxacin appears to be efficacious in the treatment of acute pulmonary exacerbations in adults with cystic fibrosis, producing responses similar to those observed with standard intravenous antibiotic therapy.