Ciprofloxacin, a 4-quinolone, is one of the newer compounds of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics. It is rapidly absorbed after oral administration and shows excellent penetration into extra-vascular tissues and other body compartments. It is a synthetic bactericidal antibiotic that inhibits bacterial nuclear DNA synthesis, so that bacteria rapidly die. The target is the enzyme DNA gyrase (topoisomerase II), which is responsible for the supercoiling and uncoiling of the DNA. Supercoiling of the DNA allows the long DNA molecule to fit into the cell. Uncoiling of the structure is the initiative step for replication, transcription and repair of the DNA. Thus, prolonged inhibition will eventually lead to the death of the cell.

Cipro, Ciprobay, Ciproxin, Ciproxine, Ciflox

Bayer developed the first fluoroquinolone to be on the market, called ciprofloxacin (Cipro). In 1987 Cipro was approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the United States as the first oral broad-spectrum antibiotic of this class. An intravenous formulation followed in 1991. Cipro has been extensively studied and its safety profile is well documented in more than 32,000 publications. More than 250 million patients have been treated world-wide.

Cipro is effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens including many gram-negative species. Cipro is indicated for the treatment of urinary tract infections, especially acute uncomplicated cystitis in females, or chronic bacterial prostatitis. Even after 13 years of use in the United States, Cipro has maintained a high level of activity against Escherichia coli compared to other agents used for urinary tract infection. Furthermore, it is most effective against P. aeruginosea, which is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotic treatment.

Further indications are infections such as acute sinusitis, lower respiratory infections, acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB), complicated intra-abdominal infections, infectious diarrhoea, infections of skin, bone and joints, as well as uncomplicated gonorrhoea (cervical and urethral).