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Increasing bacterial replication has been shown to enhance the activity of certain antibiotics. In previous research, the catecholamine-type inotropic agents dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine increased bacterial replication rates. Now, researchers have examined the activity of levofloxacin in vitro against Escherichia coli in the presence or absence of norepinephrine.
Norepinephrine increased the growth rate of E. coli in a dose-dependent manner. In a separate one-compartment infection model, the addition of norepinephrine to levofloxacin markedly increased the rate of early (within 6–8 hours) bacterial killing compared to levofloxacin alone, although by 24 hours there was no difference in bacterial density. The bacterial population …