Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Levofloxacin

In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Levofloxacin

Vivek Podder et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Levofloxacin is FDA-approved for the treatment of nosocomial pneumonia, community-acquired pneumonia, acute bacterial rhinosinusitis, acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, acute bacterial prostatitis, acute pyelonephritis, urinary tract infection, skin or skin structure infections, prophylaxis, and treatment of plaque due to Yersinia pestis, and to reduce the incidence of disease progression of inhalational anthrax. The drug is in the fluoroquinolone class of medications, and adverse effects include pseudomembranous colitis, hepatotoxicity, and QT prolongation, necessitating patient education on discontinuation if such symptoms arise. This activity reviews monitoring strategies, FDA-issued box warnings, clinical toxicology, and relevant interactions pertinent to healthcare team members in treating patients with bacterial infections.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Vivek Podder declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Preeti Patel declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Nazia Sadiq declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Bush LM, Chaparro-Rojas F, Okeh V, Etienne J. Cumulative clinical experience from over a decade of use of levofloxacin in urinary tract infections: critical appraisal and role in therapy. Infect Drug Resist. 2011;4:177-89. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bower WA, Yu Y, Person MK, Parker CM, Kennedy JL, Sue D, Hesse EM, Cook R, Bradley J, Bulitta JB, Karchmer AW, Ward RM, Cato SG, Stephens KC, Hendricks KA. CDC Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Anthrax, 2023. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2023 Nov 17;72(6):1-47. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Park KH, Kim DY, Lee YM, Lee MS, Kang KC, Lee JH, Park SY, Moon C, Chong YP, Kim SH, Lee SO, Choi SH, Kim YS, Woo JH, Ryu BH, Bae IG, Cho OH. Selection of an appropriate empiric antibiotic regimen in hematogenous vertebral osteomyelitis. PLoS One. 2019;14(2):e0211888. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bennett AC, Bennett CL, Witherspoon BJ, Knopf KB. An evaluation of reports of ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and moxifloxacin-association neuropsychiatric toxicities, long-term disability, and aortic aneurysms/dissections disseminated by the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2019 Nov;18(11):1055-1063. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anderson VR, Perry CM. Levofloxacin : a review of its use as a high-dose, short-course treatment for bacterial infection. Drugs. 2008;68(4):535-65. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources