No antagonism was seen with the rifampicin-doxycycline or rifampicin-tetracycline combinations at both pH conditions, while antagonism was clear when the ciprofloxacin-tetracycline and ciprofloxacin-streptomycin combinations were assessed. In addition, antagonism increased at pH 5.0 compared to pH 7.0 when rifampicin-ciprofloxacin and particularly rifampicin-sparfloxacin combinations were used. No synergic or
additive effects were observed when we applied the new combinations at both pH conditions, whereas the rifampicin-doxycycline combination was the most synergistic at both pH Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical degrees. Nevertheless, the return of brucellosis during the use of Quinolone has been mentioned previously. A prospective study by al Sibai et al.29 reported high probabilities of brucellosis BAY 73-4506 manufacturer relapse after monotherapy with ciprofloxacin Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical (26.7%). On the other hand, in a retrospective study by Tekkok et al.30 ofloxacin monotherapy led to a higher probability of brucellosis relapse than the ofloxacin-rifampicin combination in a small number of patients with spondylitis.30 Aygen et al.31 revealed that in 480 patients with various forms of brucellosis, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the probabilities of relapse for the
various treatment regimens were 4.6% for the patients who received non-Quinolone regimens and 17.9% for those who received Quinolone-based regimens (21.4% for ciprofloxacin monotherapy and 14.3% for the combinations of Quinolones with other antibiotics). Conclusion Our results suggest the presence of a good Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical activity of ciprofloxacin and sparfloxacin, with the exception of the rifampicin-sparfloxacin combination at pH 5 alone and with combination with other traditional antibiotics used in the treatment of brucellosis infection, in vitro, against Syrian Brucella isolates collected from different provinces. The activity of rifampicin in this study was mediocre, even though it is considered a front-line treatment used in brucellosis therapy. However, a combination of doxycycline
and rifampicin Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical enhanced the activity of rifampicin in both pH values. Unfortunately, streptomycin did not have any activity against these L-NAME HCl isolates. Finally, if the treatment with Quinolones is opted for, care should be taken because the consumption of Quinolone alone can probably cause the relapse of Brucella disease. Then, when it is used instead of rifampicin, doxycycline should be applied simultaneously. Further and more specific studies, in vivo, are recommended to determine the efficacy of these Quinolones in the treatment of brucellosis infections. If rifampicin could be replaced by ciprofloxacin and sparfloxacin, then rifampicin use could be restricted solely to the treatment of tuberculosis, which is regarded as a big challenge in Syria. Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank the Director General of the AECS and the Head of the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Department for their support.