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Aerosolized antibiotics to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2009 Apr;22(2):154-8
Authors: Luyt CE, Combes A, Nieszkowska A, Trouillet JL, Chastre J
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review summarizes the recent data on antibiotic aerosolization to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia. RECENT FINDINGS: Most studies on antibiotic aerosolization have been case reports or descriptive studies. The results of a recent randomized, placebo-controlled trial indicated that adjunctive use of nebulized antibiotic with intravenous antibiotics to treat purulent tracheobronchitis was associated with a better outcome than placebo aerosolization. A randomized study, so far published only as an abstract, showed that amikacin aerosolized with a vibrating-mesh nebulizer--a new-generation device--was well distributed in the lung parenchyma and might lead to less intravenous antibiotic use. Several thorough reviews on nebulization devices, techniques and drawbacks have been published recently. SUMMARY: Despite recent promising findings, the widespread use of aerosolized antibiotics to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia cannot be recommended. It should be restricted to the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative ventilator-associated pneumonia.
PMID: 19276883 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]