Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Jun 2017
ReviewPharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamics-Optimized Antimicrobial Therapy in Patients with Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia/Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality. With increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance, the importance of optimizing antibiotic treatment is key to maximize treatment outcomes. ⋯ In addition, the marked physiological changes that can occur in these patients can cause serious changes in antibiotic pharmacokinetics which in turn alter the attainment of therapeutic drug exposures. This article reviews the various aspects of the pharmacokinetic changes that can occur in the critically ill patients, the barriers to achieving therapeutic drug exposures in pneumonia for systemically delivered antibiotics, the optimization for commonly used antibiotics in hospital- and ventilator-associated pneumonia, the agents that should be avoided in the treatment regimen, as well as the use of adjunctive therapy in the form of nebulized antibiotics.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Jun 2017
ReviewUsing Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Rates as a Health Care Quality Indicator: A Contentious Concept.
Pneumonia is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, although reported rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) have been declining in recent years. A multifaceted infection prevention approach, using a “ventilator bundle,” has been shown to reduce the frequency of VAP, while improving other patient outcomes. Because of difficulties in defining VAP, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service introduced a new streamlined ventilator-associated event (VAE) definition in 2013 for the surveillance of complications in mechanically ventilated patients. ⋯ However, there is increased recognition that the streamlined definitions identify a different subset of patients than those identified by traditional VAP surveillance and that VAP prevention strategies may not impact all the causes of VAE. Also, VAP and VAE rates may not always reflect the quality of care in a given ICU, especially since patient factors, beyond the control of the hospital, may impact the rates of VAP and VAE. In this review, we discuss the issues related to VAP as a quality measure and the areas of uncertainty related to the new VAE definitions.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Jun 2017
Should We Treat Ventilator-Associated Tracheobronchitis with Antibiotics?
Patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) often require lung organ support. The use of mechanical ventilation, while lifesaving can be associated with subsequent complications. The most common complication in patients under mechanical ventilation is the development of ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections (VA-LRTIs). ⋯ Infections related to these bacteria are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and cost. Therefore, a large well-designed study is warranted to determine whether patients with VAT should receive antimicrobials. Furthermore, a short course of antimicrobials could be sufficient in these patients.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Jun 2017
Infections Due to Acinetobacter baumannii in the ICU: Treatment Options.
Bacteria within the genus Acinetobacter (principally A. baumannii-calcoaceticus complex [ABC]) are gram-negative coccobacilli that may cause nosocomial infections in critically ill or debilitated patients (particularly ventilator-associated pneumonia and infections of the bloodstream, urinary tract, and wounds). Treatment of Acinetobacter infections is difficult, as Acinetobacter spp. are intrinsically resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents, and have a remarkable ability to acquire new resistance determinants via mechanisms that include plasmids, transposons, integrons, and resistance islands. Since the 1990s, global resistance to antimicrobials has escalated dramatically among ABC. ⋯ Strategies to curtail environmental colonization with MDR-ABD will require aggressive infection control efforts and cohorting of infected patients. Thoughtful antibiotic strategies are essential to limit the spread of MDR-ABC. Optimal therapy will likely require combination antimicrobial therapy of existing antibiotics as well as development of novel antibiotic classes.