Michelle S.

Tolentino 2F-Pharmacy SN: 39 A Critique on a Comparison of Levofloxacin and Moxifloxacin Use in Hospitalized Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) Patients in the United States: Focus Length of Stay The authors of this journal article are Schein J., Janagap-Benson, Grant R, Sikirica V, Doshi D, and Olson W. They came from Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, Raritan, NJ, USA. These medical researchers had a comparative study regarding the effectiveness of levofloxacin and moxifloxacin in treating community acquired pneumonia (CAP).This article was entitled A comparison of levofloxacin and moxifloxacin use in hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients in the US. It came from a journal named Inpharma which is a weekly journal that includes concise summaries of the most important biomedical researches published worldwide, presented in an easy to read format. This journal aims to let the public know about current opinion, news and reviews on drug and treatment issues, treatment guidelines, pharmacoeconomics and adverse drug reactions news. This journal article was published last March 15, 2008. It can be seen in volume 10 of the journal in pages 3-4. The objective of this study is to evaluate the length of stay (LOS), costs, and treatment consistency among patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) initially treated with intravenous (IV) moxifloxacin 400 mg or IV levofloxacin 750 mg. The methodology of the study was conducted in a laboratory and a hospital in USA wherein they used adult patients admitted for CAP. These patients were given levofloxacin 750 mg IV or moxifloxacin 400 mg IV in the first three days of their hospitalization, using the Premier Perspective comparative database. Researchers sorted out adults base on their ages and disease severity by using all baseline covariates, and metric matching. Comparisons between groups were further adjusted for characteristics that remained imbalanced after matching using generalized estimating equations. After that 3 days infusion of the drug to the patients they suit to it that no additional IV moxifloxacin or levofloxacin was injected to them, no switch to another IV antibiotic and no addition of another IV antibiotic. The data analysis included a total of 1594 patients (797) in each group. The patients treated with levofloxacin had a significantly shorter LOS than those treated with moxifloxacin (5.83 vs. 6.37). Hospitalization costs were also lower for the levofloxacin recipients than moxifloxacin recipients (US7638 vs.US7767) was this corresponds to a cost saving of 129 per hospitalised episode for patients.

A Critique on a Comparison of Levofloxacin and Moxifloxacin Use in Hospitalized Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) Patients in the United States: Focus Length of Stay Although it was made clear in the title of the journal article that the purpose of the authors in writing this is to compare the length of stay (LOS) of patients who used levofloxacin and moxifloxacin respectively in treating CAP but the text itself tackles more about the effectiveness of this two drug to the recipients. The authors fail to really elaborate the difference and similarities of levofloxacin and moxifloxacin because these may answer the question if why levofloxacin cures faster than moxifloxacin also they didnt specify the reason of using such dosage in each drug. The objective of the was c In the article all issues are relevant especially in the methodology part but at some point there are some information that have insufficient explanations. The authors didnt further discuss the way on how the researchers have chosen the patients they examined. They must explain the criteria for choosing these people and not just by sorting them out based on their ages and the severity of their pneumonia because there are some instances that people tend to have diseases which they are not aware of and these can alter the result of the study. The authors should include if the patients have undergone tests and screenings or not before the study was conducted and the appropriate reason for doing such. They must also indicate the gender of the persons examined because according to Dr. Wilhelm Smith an anatomist there is a difference between the tolerance and acceptance of a particular drug in the body of a male and a female. Since randomization of subjects is not possible, adequate statistical techniques must be used to ensure treatment groups are balanced with respect to patient and clinical characteristics. Some contents were overemphasized making other Some sections of the manuscript was condensed most importantly in the procedures that the researchers have gone through. The writers have showed inadequate data to show if what was the conditions of the patients who took levofloxacin or on the other hand moxifloxacin in their stay in the hospital. They didnt expound on the effects of these drugs to the recipients. The objectives of the research was important for the field especially because this can give people who have CAP an idea on what drug they will use to cure their disease. The clinical implications of a shorter hospital LOS include improved patient and economic outcomes. The statistical methods used by the writers are appropriate but incomplete. They didnt interpreted and analyzed the breakdown of fees in the hospitalization of the patients involved in the study. They didnt indicate whether each them occupied the

same room and if all of them accommodated the same convenience as one did. They didnt even mention the real price of each drug and if how many times each patient took it before they became well. Our health is the most important wealth that we have, knowing about this study will enable us to make choices regarding on how we would like to treat our illness and diseases based on our financial capacity. This would be a great help in improving ones economic life.