New uses for older antibiotics: nitrofurantoin, amikacin, colistin, polymyxin B, doxycycline, and minocycline revisited.

Author(s): Cunha BA

Affiliation(s): State University of New York School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY, USA.

Publication date & source: 2006-11, Med Clin North Am., 90(6):1089-107.

Publication type: Review

Nitrofurantoin, amikacin, colistin, polymyxin B, doxycycline, and minocycline are antibiotics with proven effectiveness against selected pathogens. These antibiotics have not developed resistance over time. As "low-resistance potential antibiotics" that are effective against an increasing number of infections due to resistant gram-positive or gram-negative pathogens, these antimicrobials remain an important part of the antibiotic armamentarium. They will be used increasingly in the future, as highly resistant organisms continue to be important clinically and therapeutic options remain limited.