Adequate Empirical Antimicrobial Therapy Research Articles

Impact of early appropriate antimicrobial therapy on survival in Acinetobacter baumannii bloodstream infections

The impact of appropriate empirical antimicrobial therapy for Acinetobacter baumannii bacteraemia on patient outcomes has not been clearly established. We assessed predictors of 30-day mortality and the effect of inappropriate empirical antimicrobial treatment on mortality among patients with A. baumannii bacteraemia between July 2005 and June 2008. Initial empirical antimicrobial therapy was considered to be appropriate if the initial antibiotics that were administered within 48 h after the acquisition of a blood culture sample included at least one antibiotic that was active in vitro and when the dosage and route of administration were in accordance with current medical standards. Overall, 103 patients with nosocomial A. baumannii bacteraemia were included in the study. Appropriate empirical therapy was administered to 41.7% of patients within 48 h. The overall mortality rate was 54.4%, with rates of 39.5% and 65% for patients who received appropriate and inappropriate antimicrobial therapy within 48 h, respectively. Thus, a 25.5% reduction in the overall crude mortality rate was associated with adequate early empirical antimicrobial therapy. Multivariate analysis using a Cox regression model showed that significant independent risk factors for mortality were delayed appropriate treatment [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3–4.2; P = 0.004], development of septic shock (HR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.4–4.8; P = 0.004), age > 65 years (HR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.2–3.7; P = 0.007) and mechanical ventilation (HR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.5–7.4; P = 0.003). It is concluded that a delay in receiving appropriate antimicrobial therapy had an adverse influence on clinical outcome in patients with A. baumannii bacteraemia.

Pharyngeal Carriage and Antimicrobial Resistance of Haemophilus influenzae in Non-Type-b-Vaccinated Healthy Children Attending Day Care Centers in Turkey

Background: The true prevalence of Haemophilus influenzae carriage rates in Turkey is unknown. As surveillance of pharyngeal carriage of resistant strains is important for initiating adequate empirical antimicrobial therapy, with the present study, we aimed to determine the carriage rates and antimicrobial resistance patterns of H. influenzae isolated from healthy children attending day care centers (DCCs) in Istanbul, Turkey. Methods: A total of 195 healthy children were included from two DCCs. Pharyngeal swabs were cultured for H. influenzae which were identified according to standard microbiologic procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed by the agar dilution method in accordance with the guidelines of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory standards. β-Lactamase production was determined by the nitrocefin disc test. Results: The average pharyngeal carriage rate of H. influenzae was determined as 48.7%: 7.2% type b, 7.6% other capsulated strains, 33.9% noncapsulated strains, with a carriage peak between 0 and 11 months (68.1%). The ampicillin resistance observed in 7.3% of H. influenzae isolates was associated with a presence of β-lactamase, except for one isolate which was interpreted as β-lactamase-negative ampicillin-resistant strain. The resistance of H. influenzae to sulbactam/ampicillin, cefuroxime, azithromycin, tetracycline and cotrimoxazole was 0.5, 1.5, 0.5, 2.9 and 28.6%, respectively. Cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and imipenem resistance was not detected. Conclusion: Our data show that the upper respiratory tract of about 48.7% of children was colonized with H. influenzae. This high colonization rate indicates that there is a need for surveillance of pharyngeal carriage of resistant strains in healthy Turkish children attending DCCs.

Antimicrobial Therapy for Intra-Abdominal Infections: Guidelines from the Infectious Disease Advisory Board (IDAB)

Intra-abdominal infection is a common cause of severe sepsis in a hospital setting and remains associated with a significant morbidity, mortality and resource use.Early adequate surgery or drainage remain the cornerstones of intra-abdominal infection management and impact on patients outcome. Concomitant early and adequate empiric antimicrobial therapy further influences patients morbidity and mortality.Multiple empirical regimens have been proposed in this setting, but rarely supported by well designed, randomized-con-trolled studies. The current manuscript summarizes the recommendations of the Infection Disease Advisory Board on the management of intra-abdominal infections. Empiric antimicrobial therapy for the most common causes of abdominal infections is proposed. In addition, particular attention has been paid on antibiotic treatment duration.

Neumonía nosocomial por Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii is a significant cause of nosocomial pneumonia, especially late ventilator-associated pneumonia. In Spain, A. baumannii is the third leading pathogen after Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Risk factors for pneumonia due to A. baumannii are head injury, neurosurgery, acute respiratory distress syndrome, aspiration, and previous antibiotic therapy. Definitive diagnosis requires respiratory samples and invasive techniques with quantitative cultures to differentiate true infections from simple colonizations. The crude mortality of patients with ventilator-associated A. baumannii pneumonia is high, although the attributable mortality is controversial. Adequate empirical antimicrobial therapy of A. baumannii pneumonia is a protective factor, even though the therapeutic options are often limited. The treatment of choice is imipenem and sulbactam may be considered an acceptable alternative. Nowadays, colistin is the treatment of choice in A. baumannii pneumonia caused by panresistant strains. The associations of imipenem and rifampin or imipenem and sulbactam may be acceptable alternatives to colistin in infections caused by these strains. Surveillance measures are essential to eradicate this multidrug-resistant pathogen in outbreaks and reduce the number of episodes in endemic situations. Although these measures are important throughout the hospital, intensive care units are especially high-risk areas.

The value and safety of percutaneous lung aspiration for children with serious pulmonary infections.

It is often difficult to establish the etiology of pulmonary infections in children. The diagnostic value and safety of percutaneous needle aspiration of the lung were investigated in 98 children who were suspected of having a bacterial pulmonary infection and who were seriously ill or had failed to respond to apparently adequate empiric antimicrobial therapy. The etiology of the pulmonary infection was established in 60 patients (61%); in the remaining 38 cases (39%) no bacterial microorganisms were recovered from the lung aspirate. Twenty-four (40%) patients in whom the pathogen(s) were identified were already receiving empiric antimicrobial therapy, and in 18 (66%) the original therapeutic regimen had to be changed to optimally treat the isolated microorganism(s). A total of 11 complications occurred in 10 children (10%): 9 pneumothoraces and two instances of mild, self-limited hemoptysis. Six of the pneumothoraces (66%) required treatment by either a thoracostomy and chest-tube or simple percutaneous aspiration. There were no deaths related to the procedures. It was concluded that percutaneous needle aspiration of the lung in children is a potentially useful and reasonably safe technique for the diagnosis of pulmonary infection in carefully selected cases when an exact etiologic diagnosis is needed.