Activity of clinafloxacin, compared with six other quinolones, against Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates

The in vitro activity of clinafloxacin was studied in comparison with ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, nalidixic acid, sparfloxacin and trovafloxacin against Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. Clinafloxacin showed a MIC₉₀ of 4 mg/L, whereas the remaining quinolones showed a MIC₉₀ equal to or higher than 16 mg/L. MIC₅₀ determination in the presence of reserpine resulted in a two-fold decrease, except for trovafloxacin, which decreased four-fold, and for moxifloxacin and nalidixic acid, which did not change. The effect of reserpine was most pronounced among strains with a low level of resistance to quinolones. The MIC of clinafloxacin for strains with no mutation in either gyrA or parC genes ranged from 0.008 to 0.25 mg/L. In strains with a single mutation at amino acid codon Ser83 of the gyrA gene, the MIC of clinafloxacin ranged from 0.12 to 1 mg/L, whereas strains with a double mutation, one in the gyrA gene and another in the parC gene, showed a range of MIC of clinafloxacin from 1 to 8 mg/L. Therefore, clinafloxacin shows good activity against strains carrying a single mutation in the gyrA gene, and hence a second mutation is required for the microorganism to express resistance.