H. Kirst
Sep 1, 1989
Citations
1
Influential Citations
144
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
Abstract
Erythromycin is an old and well-established antimicrobial agent which has assumed greater therapeutic importance because of its activity against increasingly prevalent pathogens such as Legionella, Campylobacter, and Chlamydia spp. (1, 13, 59, 79). It is generally perceived within the infectious disease community as a safe and effective antibiotic. These circumstances have prompted research groups throughout the world to continue exploration for novel modifications of erythromycin which would improve upon the therapeutic properties of the parent compound. During the past few years, several new derivatives of erythromycin have been identified during preclinical evaluation as sufficiently promising to warrant clinical investigations. Although erythromycin is the only member of the large class of macrolide antibiotics to have achieved significant clinical utility in the United States, several macrolides other than erythromycin have been developed and used in other countries (58). These macrolides differ from erythromycin in the size and/or substitution pattern of the lactone ring system; in recent years, new derivatives of these other macrolides have also been prepared and evaluated for clinical utility. Pertinent properties and clinical results for all of these new macrolide derivatives are summarized in this minireview.