Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 7, 2026
Preoxygenation Techniques for Tracheal Intubation in Critically Ill Adults Utilizing Oxygen Mask and Noninvasive Ventilation
Published on: December 5, 2025
Nebulization of Antiinfective Agents in Invasively Mechanically Ventilated Adults: A Systematic Review and
Candela Solé-Lleonart1, Jean-Jacques Rouby, Stijn Blot
1From the University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospitals, Critical Care Department, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (C.S.-L.); Soins Intensifs, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland (C.S.-L.); Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona, Medicine Department, Barcelona, Spain (C.S.-L.); Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Unit, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) of Paris 6, Paris, France (J.-J.R.); Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium (S.B.); Fourth Department of Internal Medicine, Athens University School of Medicine, Attikon University General Hospital, Athens, Greece (G.P.); Service de Réanimation Médicale, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie of Paris, Paris, France (J.C., C.-E.L.); Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Division, Department of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York (L.B.P.); Infectious Diseases Division, Santa Maria Misericordia University Hospital, Udine, Italy (M.B.); Emergency and Intensive Care Department, Centro Hospitalar io S. João EPE, Porto, Portugal (J.M.P.); Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (J.M.P.); Critical Care Department, Vall d'Hebrón University Hospital, Vall d'Hebrón Research Institute, CIBERES, Barcelona, Spain (J. Riera); Acute Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital of South Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom (T.F.); Burns Trauma and Critical Care Research Centre, Pharmacy Department, The University of Queensland, Herston, Brisbane, Australia (J.D., J.A.R.); Department of Respiratory Medicine, German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Medizinische Hochschule, Hannover, Germany (T.W.); Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Oxford University, United Kingdom (J.M.G.-A.); and ESGCIP, CIBERES, Clinical Research and Epidemiology in Pneumonia and Sepsis (CRIPS), Vall d'Hebrón Institut of Research, Barcelona, Spain (J. Rello).
Background:
Nebulization of antiinfective agents is a common but unstandardized practice in critically ill patients.
Methods:
A systematic review of 1,435 studies was performed in adults receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. Two different administration strategies (adjunctive and substitute) were considered clinically relevant. Inclusion was restricted to studies using jet, ultrasonic, and vibrating-mesh nebulizers. Studies involving children, colonized-but-not-infected adults, and cystic fibrosis patients were excluded.
Results:
Five of the 11 studies included had a small sample size (fewer than 50 patients), and only 6 were randomized. Diversity of case-mix, dosage, and devices are sources of bias. Only a few patients had severe hypoxemia. Aminoglycosides and colistin were the most common antibiotics, being safe regarding nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity, but increased respiratory complications in 9% (95% CI, 0.01 to 0.18; I = 52%), particularly when administered to hypoxemic patients. For tracheobronchitis, a significant decrease in emergence of resistance was evidenced (risk ratio, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.64; I = 0%). Similar findings were observed in pneumonia by susceptible pathogens, without improvement in mortality or ventilation duration. In pneumonia caused by resistant pathogens, higher clinical resolution (odds ratio, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.30 to 2.96; I = 0%) was evidenced. These findings were not consistently evidenced in the assessment of efficacy against pneumonia caused by susceptible pathogens.
Conclusions:
Performance of randomized trials evaluating the impact of nebulized antibiotics with more homogeneous populations, standardized drug delivery, predetermined clinical efficacy, and safety outcomes is urgently required. Infections by resistant pathogens might potentially have higher benefit from nebulized antiinfective agents. Nebulization, without concomitant systemic administration of the drug, may reduce nephrotoxicity but may also be associated with higher risk of respiratory complications.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:23Mechanical Ventilation III: Noninvasive Ventilation
Noninvasive Positive-Pressure Ventilation...
01:23Mechanical Ventilation II: Invasive Ventilation
Negative-Pressure Ventilators
Negative-pressure ventilators create a vacuum around the chest or body to draw air into the lungs, simulating breathing. This method does not require an...
01:23Inhaled Medications
01:30Pneumonia V: Nursing management and Prevention
The nurse must practice strict medical asepsis and adhere to infection control guidelines to minimize healthcare-associated infections.
Enhance airway patency
Position the patient correctly to facilitate drainage of the affected lung segments. Manual or mechanical percussion and vibration can also be employed....
01:28Pneumonia IV: Management
Bacterial Pneumonia Treatment
For bacterial pneumonia, antibiotics serve as the cornerstone of therapy. Initial treatment often begins with empirical antibiotics, tailored to the anticipated causative organism and adjusted based on culture results. Key antibiotic choices include:
01:29Acute Respiratory Failure-V
Ensure that patients are monitored continuously for their response to therapy, including changes in...