New antibiotic, ketolide: The first of its kind

Clinicians will soon be able to offer their patients with upper respiratory infections (URIs) an antibiotic that avoids bacterial resistance by 2 different mechanisms. The FDA recently approved telithromycin (Ketek, Aventis), the first member of the ketolide class of antibiotics to be approved for use in the U.S. Telithromycin is approved for the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, or Moraxella catarrhalis; acute bacterial sinusitis due to S. pneumoniae, M. catarrhalis, or Staphylococcus aureus; and community-acquired pneumonia of mild-to-moderate severity due to S. pneumoniae (including multidrug-resistant isolates), H. influenzae, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, or Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The drug will be available in pharmacies by the end of July.