For the treatment of the following infections caused by susceptible organisms: urinary tract infections, acute uncomplicated cystitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, lower respiratory tract infections, acute sinusitis, skin and skin structure infections, bone and joint infections, complicated intra-abdominal infections (used in combination with metronidazole), infectious diarrhea, typhoid fever (enteric fever), uncomplicated cervical and urethral gonorrhea, and inhalational anthrax (post-exposure).
The bactericidal action of ciprofloxacin results from inhibition of the enzymes topoisomerase II (DNA gyrase) and topoisomerase IV, which are required for bacterial DNA replication, transcription, repair, strand supercoiling repair, and recombination.
The major adverse effect seen with use of is gastrointestinal irritation, common with many antibiotics.
Rapidly and well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration. The absolute bioavailability is approximately 70% with no substantial loss by first pass metabolism.
4 hours
Approximately 40 to 50% of an orally administered dose is excreted in the urine as unchanged drug.
* Renal cl=300 mL/min
For the treatment of infections (respiratory tract, kidney, skin, soft tissue, UTI), urethral and cervical gonorrhoea.
Ofloxacin acts on DNA gyrase and toposiomerase IV, enzymes which, like human topoisomerase, prevents the excessive supercoiling of DNA during replication or transcription. By inhibiting their function, the drug thereby inhibits normal cell division.
LD<sub>50</sub>=5450 mg/kg (orally in mice)
Bioavailability of ofloxacin in the tablet formulation is approximately 98%
9 hours
Elimination is mainly by renal excretion. Between 65% and 80% of an administered oral dose of ofloxacin is excreted unchanged via the kidneys within 48 hours of dosing. Four to eight percent of an ofloxacin dose is excreted in the feces. This indicates a small degree of biliary excretion of ofloxacin.