The effect of N-acetylcysteine on biofilms: Implications for the treatment of respiratory tract infections
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: In airway infections, biofilm formation has been demonstrated to be responsible for both acute and chronic events, and constitutes a genuine challenge in clinical practice. Difficulty in eradicating biofilms with systemic antibiotics has led clinicians to consider the possible role of non-antibiotic therapy. The aim of this review is to examine current evidence for the use of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in the treatment of biofilm-related respiratory infections.
METHODS: Electronic searches of PUBMED up to September 2015 were conducted, searching for 'biofilm', 'respiratory tract infection', 'N-acetylcysteine', 'cystic fibrosis', 'COPD', 'bronchiectasis', 'otitis', and 'bronchitis' in titles and abstracts. Studies included for review were primarily in English, but a few in Italian were also selected.
RESULTS: Biofilm formation may be involved in many infections, including ventilator-associated pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, bronchitis, and upper respiratory airway infections. Many in vitro studies have demonstrated that NAC is effective in inhibiting biofilm formation, disrupting preformed biofilms (both initial and mature), and reducing bacterial viability in biofilms. There are fewer clinical studies on the use of NAC in disruption of biofilm formation, although there is some evidence that NAC alone or in combination with antibiotics can decrease the risk of exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and rhinosinusitis.…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Impact of antibiotics on the human microbiome and consequences for host health
- Antibiotics in the clinical pipeline in October 2019
- The incidence of collagen-associated adverse events in pediatric population with the use of fluoroquinolones: a nationwide cohort study in Taiwan
- Research Communications of the 32nd ECVIM-CA Online Congress
- Singlet-Oxygen Therapy. Scientific And Methodological Materials
- Artificial Intelligence in Pharmacovigilance
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.