Current opinion in infectious diseases
-
Pleural infection is a common and serious clinical problem that because of its high morbidity and mortality imposes a significant burden on clinicians, healthcare resources and patients of all ages. Defining the optimal management strategy for pleural infection remains a cause for research and debate. This review considers the areas of interest including bacteriology and antibiotic selection, intrapleural fibrinolytics and the role of surgery. ⋯ The high mortality in adults from pleural infection despite advances in clinical knowledge, diagnostics and therapeutics highlights the need for ongoing research. Future studies are required to focus on improving the clinical outcomes, with the identification of those patients at greatest risk of poor outcomes at presentation and most likely to benefit from more radical treatment a priority to allow the delivery of individualized care.
-
Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. · Apr 2013
ReviewDiagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia: controversies and working toward a gold standard.
The aim is to discuss the clinical, microbiologic, and radiological criteria used in the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), distinguish between ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT) and VAP, and reconcile the proposed Centers for Disease Control surveillance criteria with clinical practice. ⋯ The clinical characteristics of VAP and VAT are similar and include fever, leukocytosis, and purulent sputum. An infiltrate on chest radiograph is consistent with VAP but lacks diagnostic precision, so it is not a criterion in the proposed surveillance definition and should be interpreted cautiously by clinicians. Microbiologically, quantitative and semiquantitative endotracheal aspirate cultures may be employed to diagnose VAP and VAT. Positive bronchoalveolar lavage and protected specimen brush cultures are useful only for the diagnosis of VAP. Experts should collaborate to develop consensus definitions for VAP and VAT that can be applied in practice.
-
Obesity is becoming a major burden on healthcare systems worldwide. The management of infections is problematic due to both an increased risk of morbidity and mortality, as well as a lack of information about dosing of antibiotics in the obese population. Recommendations in this patient group are severely lacking, so clinicians need to consider pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic parameters and the relative risks of overdosing and underdosing. ⋯ Obesity causes a number of changes, including an increase in volume of distribution and changes in hepatic metabolism and renal excretion. Several antibiotics have sufficient data to be able to make recommendations, whereas other antibiotics may need to make use of doses at the upper end of the recommended range, or utilize other dose modifications based on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic parameters, in an attempt to reach adequate levels and achieve similar efficacy.
-
Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. · Dec 2012
Review'Old' antibiotics for emerging multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Increased emergence of bacterial resistance and the decline in newly developed antibiotics have necessitated the reintroduction of previously abandoned antimicrobial agents active against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Having never been subjected to contemporary drug development procedures, these 'old' antibiotics require redevelopment in order to optimize therapy. This review focuses on colistin as an exemplar of a successful redevelopment process and briefly discusses two other old antibiotics, fusidic acid and fosfomycin. ⋯ The example of colistin demonstrated that state-of-the-art analytical, microbiological and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic methods can facilitate optimized use of 'old' antibiotics in the clinic. Similar methods are now being applied to fosfomycin and fusidic acid in order to optimize therapy. To improve and preserve the usefulness of these antibiotics rational approaches for redevelopment need to be followed.
-
Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. · Dec 2012
ReviewInfusional β-lactam antibiotics in febrile neutropenia: has the time come?
Febrile neutropenia presents a clinical challenge in which timely and appropriate antibiotic exposure is crucial. In the context of altered pharmacokinetics and rising bacterial resistance, standard antibiotic doses are unlikely to be sufficient. This review explores the potential utility of altered dosing approaches of β-lactam antibiotics to optimize treatment in febrile neutropenia. ⋯ Antibiotic treatment in febrile neutropenia is becoming increasingly difficult. Patients are of higher acuity, receive more intensive chemotherapy regimens leading to prolonged neutropenia, and are often exposed to multiple antibiotic courses. These patients display significant variability in antibiotic clearances and increases in volume of distribution compared with standard ward-based patients. Rising antibiotic resistance and a lack of new antibiotics in production have prompted alternative dosing strategies based on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data, such as extended or continuous infusions of β-lactam antibiotics, to maximize the likelihood of treatment success. A definitive study that describes a mortality benefit of such dosing regimens remains elusive and the theoretical advantages require testing in well designed clinical trials.