No development of ciprofloxacin resistance in the Haemophilus species associated with pneumonia over a 10-year study

Long-term effects of ciprofloxacin treatment on the gastrointestinal and oropharyngeal microbiome are more pronounced after longer antibiotic courses

BACKGROUND

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the main reasons for antibiotic prescriptions in primary care. Recent studies demonstrate similar clinical outcomes with short vs. long antibiotics courses. The aim of this study was to investigate the differential collateral effect of ciprofloxacin treatment duration on the gastrointestinal and oropharyngeal microbiome in patients presenting with uncomplicated UTI to primary care practices in Switzerland, Belgium and Poland.

METHODS

Stool and oropharyngeal samples were obtained from 36 treated patients and 14 controls at the beginning of antibiotic therapy, end of therapy and one month after the end of therapy. Samples underwent shotgun metagenomics.

RESULTS

At the end of therapy, patients treated with both short (≤7 days) and long (>7 days) ciprofloxacin courses showed similar changes in the gastrointestinal microbiome compared to non-treated controls. After one month, most changes in patients receiving short courses were reversed; however, long courses led to increased abundance of the genera Roseburia, Faecalicatena and Escherichia. Changes in the oropharynx were minor and reversed to baseline levels within one month. Ciprofloxacin resistance encoding mutations in gyrA/B and parC/E reads were observed in both short and long treatment groups but decreased to baseline levels after one month. An increased abundance of resistance genes was observed in the gastrointestinal microbiome after longer treatment, and correlated to increased prevalence of aminoglycoside, β-lactam, sulphonamide, and tetracycline resistance genes.

CONCLUSION

Collateral effects on the gastrointestinal community, including an increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance genes, persists for up to at least one month following longer ciprofloxacin therapy. These data support the use of shorter antimicrobial treatment duration.

Etiology of community-acquired pneumonia in adults: a systematic review

Background

The etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has evolved since the beginning of the antibiotic era. Recent guidelines encourage immediate empiric antibiotic treatment once a diagnosis of CAP is made. Concerns about treatment recommendations, on the one hand, and antibiotic stewardship, on the other, motivated this review of the medical literature on the etiology of CAP.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of English-language literature on the etiology of CAP using methods defined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched PubMed using a combination of the keywords ‘pneumonia’, ‘CAP’, ‘etiology’, ‘microbiology’, ‘bacteriology’, and ‘pathogen’. We examined articles on antibiotics that were develop to treat pneumonia. We reviewed all ‘related articles’ as well as studies referenced by those that came up in the search. After we excluded articles that did not give sufficient microbiological data or failed to meet other predetermined criteria, 146 studies remained. Data were stratified into diagnostic categories according to the microbiologic studies that were done; results are presented as the percentage in each category of all cases in which an etiology was established.

Results

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains the most common cause of CAP although declining in incidence; this decline has been greater in the US than elsewhere. Haemophilus influenzae is the second most common cause of CAP, followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Gram negative bacilli. The incidence of all bacteria as causes of CAP has declined because, with routine use of PCR for viruses, the denominator, cases with an established etiology, has increased. Viruses were reported on average in about 10% of cases, but recent PCR-based studies identified a respiratory virus in about 30% of cases of CAP, with substantial rates of viral/bacterial coinfection.

Conclusion

The results of this study justify current guidelines for initial empiric treatment of CAP. With pneumococcus and Haemophilus continuing to predominate, efforts at antibiotic stewardship might be enhanced by greater attention to the routine use of sputum Gram stain and culture. Because viral/bacterial coinfection is relatively common, the identification of a virus by PCR does not, by itself, allow for discontinuation of the antibiotic therapy.

Sepsis National Hospital Inpatient Quality Measure (SEP-1): Multistakeholder Work Group Recommendations for Appropriate Antibiotics for the Treatment of Sepsis

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services adopted the Early Management Bundle, Severe Sepsis/Septic Shock (SEP-1) performance measure to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program in July 2015 to help address the high mortality and high cost associated with sepsis. The SEP-1 performance measure requires, among other critical interventions, timely administration of antibiotics to patients with sepsis or septic shock. The multistakeholder workgroup recognizes the need for SEP-1 but strongly believes that multiple antibiotics listed in the antibiotic tables for SEP-1 are not appropriate and the use of these antibiotics, as called for in the SEP-1 measure, is not in alignment with prudent antimicrobial stewardship. To promote the appropriate use of antimicrobials and combat antimicrobial resistance, the workgroup provides recommendations for appropriate antibiotics for the treatment of sepsis.