Comparative bronchoalveolar concentrations of ciprofloxacin and lomefloxacin following oral administration.

In a comparative study, the concentrations of two fluoroquinolone antimicrobials, ciprofloxacin and lomefloxacin, were measured in serum, bronchial mucosal biopsies, epithelial lining fluid (ELF) and alveolar macrophages (AM). Thirty-four subjects received either ciprofloxacin 250 mg b.d. (17 subjects) or lomefloxacin 400 mg o.d. for 4 days prior to sampling by bronchoscopic bronchial biopsy and bronchoalveolar lavage. Both ciprofloxacin and lomefloxacin showed favourable accumulation in the sites of infection with bronchial biopsy concentrations of 1.6 and 1.7 times those of serum respectively; ELF concentrations of 2.1 and 1.9 times serum; and AM concentrations of 11.8 and 20.1 times serum respectively. The MIC90 for most of the common chest pathogens was reliably exceeded by both agents except for that of Streptococcus pneumoniae.