In vitro antibiotic susceptibilities of ocular bacteria isolates from the cornea and conjunctiva to moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin and other fluoroquinolones

PURPOSE: To assess and compare the in vitro susceptibility of ocular bacterial isolates to fluoroquinolones, including moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin. METHODS: A total of 154 bacterial ocular isolates from keratitis and conjunctivitis were tested for sensitivity to the studied antibiotics, using the disk diffusion method. RESULTS: Of the 51 corneal isolates, 46 (90.2%) were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, 45 (88.2%) to ofloxacin and 41 (80.4%) to lomefloxacin. All corneal isolates were sensitive to moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin. Of the 103 bacterial conjunctival isolates, 101 (98.1%) and 103 (100%) were sensitive to gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin, respectively. Two strains of Streptococcus sp viridans group were resistant to gatifloxacin. A total of 82 (79.6%) specimens were sensitive to lomefloxacin, 89 (86.4%) and 96 (93.2%) to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, respectively. CONCLUSION: Fourth generation fluoroquinolones, herein exemplified by moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin, seem to be more effective than previous generation fluoroquinolones against frequently encountered organisms isolated from patients with bacterial keratitis and conjunctivitis.