AZITHROMYCIN IN VITRO ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY AGAINST SELECTED PERIODONTAL BACTERIAL PATHOGENS

Abstract

Objectives: Azithromycin is a second-generation macrolide active against a wide range of bacteria, including obligate anaerobes implicated as bacterial pathogens in human periodontitis. Clinical studies indicate short-term systemic azithromycin therapy to be beneficial in the treatment of acute periodontal abscesses and as an adjunct to mechanical periodontal therapy of periodontitis patients. Only sparse recent data is available on the susceptibility or resistance of putative periodontal bacterial pathogens to azithromycin, particularly among subgingival isolates from periodontitis patients residing in the United States. Thus, the present degree to which major periodontal bacterial pathogens in United States periodontitis patients exhibit resistance to azithromycin is not known. As a result, the purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of in vitro resistance to azithromycin, as compared to metronidazole, among selected red/orange complex periodontal pathogens isolated from severe periodontitis patients in the United States.