Aztreonam in patients with acute purulent exacerbations of chronic bronchitis: failure to prevent emergence of pneumococcal infections
Abstract
A group of 36 patients, all requiring hospital admission because of acute purulent exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, were treated with 1 or 2 g intramuscular injections of aztreonam for ten days. Patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae infections were excluded from the study. Sputum cultures before treatment revealed the other usual respiratory pathogens but repeat cultures on days 3, 10 and 17 sometimes yielded Str. pneumoniae, occasionally combined with Haemophilus influenzae or Branhamella catarrhalis. Ten patients had to be given other antimicrobial agents for Str. pneumoniae infections which developed during the study or follow-up periods. Pseudomonas aeruginosa failed to respond well to aztreonam. All the H. influenzae strains were sensitive to aztreonam (MIC 0.25 mg/l, or less) but all strains of Str. pneumoniae were resistant (MIC greater than 32 mg/l). Ps. aeruginosa strains were moderately resistant (MIC generally 4-16 mg/l) and Bran. catarrhalis strains only moderately sensitive (MICs generally 0.5-4 mg/l). Peak serum concentrations averaging approximately 37 mg/l were observed after the 1 g injections (55 mg/l after 2 g) and the corresponding mean peak concentrations in the sputum were 1.3 mg/l and 2.5 mg/l, respectively. The penetration from blood to sputum was thus approximately 3.5% and 4.6% after the 1 g and 2 g doses. No unwanted local or general reactions were observed. The disappointing clinical results (only 23 out of 36 patients with excellent or good…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a clinical trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 36 participants or records.
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.