2004 年四月一日，美國FDA 核准了telithromycin 新藥上市。Telithromycin是一種新的抗菌劑，具有酮內酯（ketolides）的全新化學結構，在抗菌劑類別中屬於大環內酯（macrolide）中的新類型化合物，也可歸屬為Macrolide-lincosamidestreptogramin-b（MLSb）類。Telithromycin 具有廣泛的抗菌活性，專為社區性呼吸道感染（respiratory tract infections, RTI）提供最有效的療法，包括抗藥性與非典型/細胞內菌株所引起的感染。本篇文章主要介紹呼吸道感染疾病，telithromycin 的抗菌特性、作用機轉、藥物動力學以及telithromycin 的臨床使用範圍。在這難纏的抗藥性問題不斷增加的年代，針對社區性呼吸道感染之治療，telithromycin 可以當作quinolones 類藥物的一個有效替代品，對治療社區性呼吸道感染的臨床醫療人員來說，無疑多了另一個可供選擇使用的抗菌藥物。
 

Telithromycin was approved for clinical use by U.S. FDA on 01, 04, 2004.Telithromycin is the first member of a new family of the macrolide-lincosamidestreptogramin-b (MLSb) class of antimicrobias, the ketolides. It has a good spectrum of activity against respiratory pathogens, including penicillin- and erythromycin-resistant pneumococci, as well as intracellular and atypical bacteria. The object of review was to introduce respiratory tract infections, action mechanism, pharmacokinetic profile and therapeutic uses of telithromycin in clinics. Together with its flavourable tolerability profile and short course of once-daily therapy, these properties indicate that telithromycin will be a valuable new antibacterial for empirical treatment of community-acquired respiratory tract infections.