***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: In this prospect i ve , multicenter , double-blind study , the efficacy of ciprofloxacin was compared with that of clarithromycin as therapy for patients with acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis ( ABECB ) from whom a pretherapy pathogen was isolated ; the efficacy was measured by the infection-free interval . Clinical and microbiological responses at the end of therapy were secondary efficacy variables . Patients r and omly received either ciprofloxacin or clarithromycin ( 500 mg twice a day for 14 days ) . Three hundred seventy-six patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis were enrolled in the study of whom 234 had an ABECB .  Clinical resolution was observed in 90 % ( 89 of 99 ) of ciprofloxacin recipients and 82 % ( 75 of 91 ) of clarithromycin recipients for whom efficacy could be evaluated . The median infection-free interval was 142 days for ciprofloxacin recipients and 51 days for clarithromycin recipients ( P = .15 ) . Bacteriologic eradication rates were 91 % ( 86 of 95 ) for ciprofloxacin recipients and 77 % ( 67 of 87 ) for clarithromycin recipients ( P = .01 ) . In summary , compared with clarithromycin , treatment of ABECB with ciprofloxacin was associated with a trend toward a longer infection-free interval and a statistically significantly higher bacteriologic eradication rate In an open r and omized study 218 out patients ( 159 males and 59 females ) ranging between 18 and 85 years of age ( mean 61.9 ) suffering from bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis have been r and omly treated : 79 with co-amoxiclav ( amoxicillin 875 mg+clavulanic acid 125 mg ) twice daily , 69 with cefixime ( 400 mg ) once daily , and 70 with ciprofloxacin ( 500 mg ) twice daily for an average period of 10 days . Before treatment start , 234 bacterial strains ( 105 Gram-positive and 129 Gram-negative ) were isolated as the cause of exacerbation ; the leading pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus spp . Eradication rates at the end of treatment were 82.2 % for the co-amoxiclav group , 77.6 % for the cefixime group , and 81.2 % for ciprofloxacin group . Clinical success ( cure+improvement ) was obtained in 90.8 % of the cases treated with co-amoxiclav , in 80.9 % for the cefixime group and in 85.7 % of patients treated with ciprofloxacin . Seven adverse events ( 8.9 % ) of which 4 cases of diarrhea and 3 of itching , were recorded in the co-amoxiclav group . Eleven adverse events ( 14.7 % ) were recorded in the cefixime group including gastrointestinal disturbances in 6 patients and mild to moderate increase of liver function in 2 . Nine adverse events ( 12.9 % ) occurred in the ciprofloxacin group , including insomnia in 3 patients , gastrointestinal disturbances in 2 , and serious increase of liver function tests in one patient . It can be concluded that there were no statistically significant differences among the three treatment groups . However , co-amoxiclav demonstrated a higher efficacy rate than cefixime and ciprofloxacin and was better tolerated . Therefore , it can be used as a first-choice drug in the treatment of exacerbation of chronic bronchitis Chronic bronchitis is common among adults and infectious exacerbations contribute considerably to morbidity and mortality . We aim ed to compare the safety and efficacy of moxifloxacin to azithromycin for the treatment of patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis ( AECB ) of suspected bacterial origin . Between October 1998 and April 1999 , 567 patients with AECB were enrolled at 37 centers across the United States and Canada of which 280 ( 49 % ) had acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis ( i.e. pretherapy pathogen ) . Patients were r and omized to either oral moxifloxacin 400 mg administered once daily for 5 days or azithromycin for 5 days ( 500 mg qd x 1 , then 250 mg qd x 4 ) . For the purpose of study blinding , all patients received encapsulated tablets . The main outcome measure was clinical response at the test-of-cure visit ( 14 - 21 days post-therapy ) . Secondary measures included bacteriologic response and a time-course of bacteriological eradication ( one center only ) . Three patient population s were analysed for efficacy : clinical ly-valid , microbiologically-valid ( i.e. those with a pretherapy pathogen ) , and intent-to-treat ( i.e. received at least one dose of study drug ) . For the efficacy-valid group , clinical response at the test-of-cure visit was 88 % for patients in each treatment group . In 237 microbiologically-valid patients , corresponding clinical resolution rates were 88 % for 5-day moxifloxacin vs. 86 % for 5-day azithromycin . Bacteriological eradication rates at the end of therapy were 95 % for 5-day moxifloxacin and 94 % for the azithromycin group . Corresponding eradication rates at the test-of-cure visit were 89 % and 86 % , respectively . Of note , eradication rates at test-of-cure for Haem . philos influenzae and H. parainfluenzae for moxifloxacin were 97 % and 88 % compared to 83 % and 62 % respectively for azithromycin . Among 567 intent-to-treat patients ( 283 moxifloxacin and 284 azithromycin ) , drug-related events were reported for 22 % and 17 % , respectively . Diarrhea and nausea were the most common drug-related events reported in each treatment group . Moxifloxacin 400 mg once daily for 5 days was found to be clinical ly and bacteriologically equivalent to 5-day azithromycin for the treatment of AECB of proven bacterial etiology . Given its excellent in-vitro activity , especially against antibiotic-resistant respiratory pathogens , and its acceptable safety profile , moxifloxacin should be considered an effective alternative therapy for patients with AECB of suspected bacterial origin The objective of this r and omized , double-blind study was to compare the clinical efficacy of levofloxacin at two different dosages with that of cefuroxime axetil in patients with acute purulent exacerbations of chronic bronchitis and , in particular , to assess the impact of the susceptibility to levofloxacin on the clinical findings . In total , 124 evaluable patients were treated for 7 days with oral levofloxacin 250 mg or 500 mg od , or cefuroxime axetil 250 mg bd . Sputum cultures were monitored pre-treatment , and at 1 and 7 days after the end of treatment . The susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates was tested by agar dilution in Columbia blood agar and by disc diffusion , but all other isolates were tested solely by the disc diffusion method . A greater number of infections were eradicated by levofloxacin than by cefuroxime axetil :  infections were eradicated in 68 % of patients receiving the 500 mg dosage and in 63 % of those taking 250 mg levofloxacin , whereas the eradication rate with the comparator drug was much lower ( 48 % ) . Against all pre-treatment S. pneumoniae isolates ( n = 39 ) , the MICs of levofloxacin  were between 0.25 and 2 mg/L ( geometric mean 0.95 mg/L ) , similar to those of the post-treatment strains ( n = 32 ; mean 1.11 mg/L ) . All except one of the S. pneumoniae isolates were susceptible to penicillin G ( MIC < or = 0.06 mg/L ) , and the remaining isolate was inhibited by 0.5 mg/L of penicillin G , but was fully susceptible to levofloxacin . Some pretreatment strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant to levofloxacin , but many more resistant strains were encountered afterwards . All strains of Moraxella catarrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae were highly susceptible to levofloxacin in the disc diffusion tests . All the antimicrobial agents used in the study were well tolerated : only two patients discontinued treatment because of adverse drug effects . The results of this study indicated that , although there were some failures in patients with S. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa infections , resistance to levofloxacin did not emerge rapidly among strains of S. pneumoniae during therapy with levofloxacin , and that natural resistance among pneumococci , H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis was rare This investigation compared the efficacy of oral formulations of amoxycillin/clavulanate and ciprofloxacin in  acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis . Forty patients were r and omized to receive either Augmentin  ( 1,000 mg amoxycillin + 250 mg clavulanate ) tds or  ciprofloxacin  ( 500 mg ) bd . During and before therapy sputum sample s were taken for bacteriology , sputum volume measurement and histamine determination . Lung function was also monitored . From sputum , 143 bacterial isolates and 15 yeast strains were obtained before therapy . During therapy with amoxycillin/clavulanate the incidence of Gram-positive isolates decreased significantly whereas ciprofloxacin left their frequency unchanged . On the other h and , ciprofloxacin more effectively diminished the incidence of Gram-negative isolates . Yeasts were grown from the sputum of several patients before and during therapy . Their number did not increase during amoxycillin/clavulanate therapy while it increased under ciprofloxacin . The groups showed no significant differences with regard to sputum production , histamine concentration or lung function . The majority of patients ( 28/40 ) acknowledged improvement of their symptoms . There was no significant difference between the groups . On the basis of these results both amoxycillin/clavulanate and ciprofloxacin appear of similar value for treatment of patients with exacerbations of chronic bronchitis In this multinational , r and omized , double-blind study , the efficacy and safety of a 5 day course of moxifloxacin 400 mg orally od was compared with that of a 7 day course of clarithromycin 500 mg orally bd . in 750 patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis , characterized by at least two of the symptoms : sputum purulence , increased sputum volume or increased dyspnoea .  Seven days after the end of therapy , clinical cure was achieved for 89 % ( 287 of 322 ) of efficacy-evaluable patients in the moxifloxacin group and 88 % ( 289 of 327 ) of patients in the clarithromycin group ( 95 % CI , -3.9 % , 5.8 % ) . At follow-up ( 21 - 28 days post-treatment ) , the continued clinical cure rates were 89 % ( 256 of 287 ) for moxifloxacin and 89 % ( 257 of 289 ) for clarithromycin . A total of 342 pathogenic bacteria were isolated from the sputum of 287 patients . The most common pathogens were Haemophilus influenzae ( 37 % ) , Streptococcus pneumoniae ( 31 % ) and Moraxella catarrhalis ( 18 % ) . Seven days post-treatment , a successful bacteriological response was obtained for 77 % ( 89 of 115 ) of patients in the moxifloxacin group and 62 % ( 71 of 114 ) of patients in the clarithromycin group , indicating superiority of moxifloxacin ( 95 % CI , 3.6 % , 26.9 % ) . Both treatments were well tolerated with few adverse events . This study demonstrated that for the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis a 5 day course of moxifloxacin 400 mg od was clinical ly equivalent and bacteriologically superior to a 7 day course of clarithromycin 500 mg bd OBJECTIVE This study compared the use and efficacy of ciprofloxacin to cefuroxime axetil for adult patients with acute bacterial sinusitis . METHOD We conducted a prospect i ve , r and omized , double-blind pilot study of 
    Output:
    
RESULTS The results of the comparative and single meta-analyses revealed no major differences between the new fluoroquinolones .
Results indicate that , in general , fluoroquinolones had similar efficacy , overall safety and dropout rates