Expert review of anti-infective therapy
-
Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther · Oct 2007
ReviewCurrent management of Helicobacter pylori infections in the elderly.
Helicobacter pylori infection is a chronic gastric gram-negative infection that increases with age worldwide. However, the percentage age of H. pylori-positive elderly patients who are tested and treated for their infection remains very low. ⋯ The diagnosis of H. pylori infection remains difficult to realize in the very old population, and the urea breath test obtains the best performance in this population. 1-week proton pump inhibitor-based triple therapy regimens are highly effective and well tolerated in elderly patients, and antibiotic resistance remains very low. Low compliance is the main factor related to treatment failure in this population.
-
Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther · Oct 2007
Review Comparative StudyPolymyxin B: similarities to and differences from colistin (polymyxin E).
Hospital-acquired infections due to multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria constitute major health problems, since the medical community is continuously running out of available effective antibiotics and no new agents are in the pipeline. Polymyxins, a group of antibacterials that were discovered during the late 1940s, represent some of the last treatment options for these infections. ⋯ These two medications have many similarities with respect to mechanism of action, antimicrobial spectrum, clinical uses and toxicity. However, they also differ in several aspects, including chemical structure, formulation, potency, dosage and pharmacokinetic properties.