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Anaerobic pleuropulmonary infection
1Division of Infectious Diseases, MCP/Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19129, USA. ML46@drexel.edu
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
|April 30, 2002
Summary
Obligate anaerobes cause lung infections in aspirating patients. New drugs show in-vitro activity, aiding empirical treatment for anaerobic pulmonary infections when diagnosis is challenging.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Pulmonology
Background:
- Obligate anaerobes are key in oropharyngeal flora and cause pleuropulmonary infections in aspirating patients.
- Culturing and susceptibility testing of these anaerobes present significant challenges in clinical microbiology.
- Lack of standardized methods and clinical trials complicates diagnosis and treatment of anaerobic pulmonary infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the challenges in diagnosing and treating anaerobic pulmonary infections.
- To highlight the role of in-vitro drug activity in guiding empirical therapy.
- To discuss the availability of new antimicrobial agents for anaerobic infections.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of anaerobic microbiology and pulmonary infections.
- Analysis of in-vitro studies on new drugs against anaerobic bacteria.
- Discussion of clinical trial limitations and empirical treatment strategies.
Main Results:
- Obligate anaerobes are difficult to culture and test, leading to empirical treatment decisions.
- Published in-vitro data on collected clinical isolates guide current therapeutic choices.
- New antimicrobial agents with demonstrated in-vitro activity against anaerobes are now available.
Conclusions:
- Diagnosis and treatment of anaerobic pulmonary infections remain challenging due to technical and logistical hurdles.
- Empirical therapy, guided by in-vitro data, is common.
- Emerging drugs offer new options for managing these difficult-to-treat infections.
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