Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2015
ReviewMelioidosis: evolving concepts in epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment.
Infection with Burkholderia pseudomallei can result in asymptomatic seroconversion, a single skin lesion that may or may not heal spontaneously, a pneumonia which can be subacute or chronic and mimic tuberculosis or rapidly progressive resulting in fatal overwhelming sepsis. Latency with subsequent activation of disease is well recognized, but very uncommon. Melioidosis also has a myriad of other clinical presentations and diagnosis is often delayed because of this and because of difficulties with laboratory diagnosis and lack of recognition outside melioidosis-endemic regions. ⋯ While biothreat research is directed toward potential aerosol exposure to B. pseudomallei, the overall proportion of melioidosis cases resulting from inhalation rather than from percutaneous inoculation remains entirely uncertain, although the epidemiology supports a shift to inhalation during severe weather events such as cyclones and typhoons. What makes B. pseudomallei such a dangerous organism for patients with diabetes and other selective risk factors remains unclear, but microbial genome-wide association studies linking clinical aspects of melioidosis cases to nonubiquitous or polymorphic B. pseudomallei genes or genomic islands are beginning to uncover specific virulence signatures. Finally, what also remains uncertain is the global phylogeography of B. pseudomallei and whether melioidosis is spreading beyond historical locations or is just being unmasked in Africa and the Americas by better recognition and increased surveillance.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2015
ReviewColistin: How should It Be Dosed for the Critically Ill?
Colistin, an "old" polymyxin antibiotic, is increasingly being used as last-line treatment against infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria. It is administered in patients, parenterally or by inhalation, as its inactive prodrug colistin methanesulfonate (CMS). Scientifically based recommendations on how to optimally dose colistin in critically ill patients have become available over the last decade and are extremely important as colistin has a narrow therapeutic window. ⋯ Inhalation of CMS achieves considerably higher colistin concentrations in lung fluids than is possible with intravenous administration, with negligible plasma exposure. Similarly, for central nervous system infections, dosing CMS directly into the cerebrospinal fluid generates significantly higher colistin concentrations at the infection site compared with what can be achieved with systemic administration. While questions remain to be addressed via ongoing research, this article reviews the significant advances that have been made toward optimizing the clinical use of colistin.
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Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) were almost nonexistent up to the 1990s, but are today encountered routinely in hospitals and other healthcare facilities in many countries including the United States. KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae was the first to emerge and spread globally and is endemic in the United States, Israel, Greece, and Italy. Recently, NDM-producing Enterobacteriaceae and OXA-48-producing K. pneumoniae appear to be disseminating from South Asia and Northern Africa, respectively. ⋯ To obtain the maximal benefit from the limited options available, dosing of antimicrobial agents should be optimized based on pharmacokinetic data, especially for colistin and carbapenems. In addition, multiple observational studies have associated combination antimicrobial therapy with lower mortality compared with monotherapy for these infections. The outcomes appear to be especially favorable when patients are treated with a carbapenem and a second agent such as colistin, tigecycline, and gentamicin, but the best approach is yet to be defined.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2015
ReviewApplying pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic principles in critically ill patients: optimizing efficacy and reducing resistance development.
The recent surge in multidrug-resistant pathogens combined with the diminishing antibiotic pipeline has created a growing need to optimize the use of our existing antibiotic armamentarium, particularly in the management of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Optimal and timely pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) target attainment has been associated with an increased likelihood of clinical and microbiological success in critically ill patients. ⋯ This article summarizes the relevance of PK/PD characteristics of different antibiotic classes on the development of antibiotic resistance. On the basis of the available data, we propose dosing recommendations that can be adopted in the clinical setting, to maximize therapeutic success and limit the emergence of resistance in the ICU.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2015
ReviewStenotrophomonas, achromobacter, and nonmelioid burkholderia species: antimicrobial resistance and therapeutic strategies.
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, and nonmelioid Burkholderia species, namely, Burkholderia cepacia complex, collectively are a group of troublesome nonfermenters. Although not inherently virulent organisms, these environmental Gram negatives can complicate treatment in those who are immunocompromised, critically ill in the intensive care unit and those patients with suppurative lung disease, such as cystic fibrosis. ⋯ Despite trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole often being the mainstay of treatment, resistance is widely encountered, and alternative regimens, including combination therapy, are often used. This review will highlight the important aspects and unique challenges that these three nonfermenters pose, and, in the absence of clinical outcome data, our therapeutic recommendations will be based on reported antimicrobial susceptibility and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profiles.