Randomized, double-blind comparison of single-dose regimens of rufloxacin and pefloxacin for acute uncomplicated cystitis in women. French Multicenter Urinary Tract Infection-Rufloxacin Group

In a double-blind, randomized, multicenter study, 463 adult women with symptomatic acute uncomplicated cystitis were treated orally with either a 400-mg single dose of rufloxacin (n = 226) or an 800-mg single dose of pefloxacin (n = 237). Escherichia coli (78%) and Proteus mirabilis (7%) were the most common isolates from 350 patients with significant pretreatment bacteriuria (uropathogens, > or = 10(5) CFU/ml). In the intention-to-treat analysis of patients with significant pretreatment bacteriuria, 343 patients were assessed for bacteriological outcome and 345 were assessed for clinical outcome. The bacteriological cure rate was 88% in the rufloxacin group and 84% in the pefloxacin group (95% confidence interval [CI] for difference in proportions, -4 to 12%), while the clinical resolution rate was 85 and 84%, respectively (95% CI, -8 to 9%). The per-protocol analysis demonstrated that among the 264 assessable patients, the bacteriological cure rate obtained with rufloxacin at 4 weeks of follow-up was comparable to that with pefloxacin (91 versus 85%; 95% CI, -3 to 15%). Among 295 clinically assessable patients, the clinical resolution rate at 4 weeks of follow-up was 89% in the rufloxacin group and 88% in the pefloxacin group (95% CI, -6 to 10%). Potentially drug-related adverse events occurred in 19% of the rufloxacin patients and in 18% of the pefloxacin patients. A single oral dose of 400 mg of rufloxacin is as effective and safe as a single oral dose of 800 mg of pefloxacin for the treatment of acute uncomplicated cystitis in women.