Question 14

How was the high dose levofloxacin therapy tolerated? Was there any difference between the tolerability of the usual 500 mg dose from this newer 750 mg schedule?

High dose levofloxacin therapy was well tolerated. Approximately 9% of patients reported drug-related adverse events, a value similar to the amoxicillin/clavulanate-treated patients (20). The most common drug-related adverse event was diarrhea occurring in only 4 patients treated with levofloxacin. While 500 mg levofloxacin was not used in this study, the side effect profile of the 750 mg dose was identical to reports from clinical trials examining the 500 mg dose for similar indications (21).