ARLINGTON, Va., July 14 (UPI) -- New guidelines for certain hospital-borne infections suggest shorter periods of antibiotic treatment, which will be just as effective but preserve the efficacy of the drugs for other uses.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America and American Thoracic Society recommend patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-acquired pneumonia be treated with antibiotics for seven or fewer days, according to the new guidelines published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Ventilator-acquired pneumonia occurs in one of 10 patients who require assistance breathing, most often used with patients under general anesthesia, as well as those with impaired lung function. About 13 percent of patients die from the infection, the risk for which can increase the longer a patient is connected to a mechanical ventilator.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is considered to be less severe, though it can cause serious complications in about half of patients who have it, including respiratory problems, sepsis and kidney failure.
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Previous guidelines, published in 2005, suggested doctors determine length of treatment based on the specific bacterial infection of patients, though the two organizations say seven days or less of antibiotic treatment can be effective in most patients.
While the shorter course of treatment is expected to work, the new guidelines also recommend hospitals develop antibiograms -- a regular analysis of the bacterial strains causing the infections and antibiotics found most effective against them.
In addition to updating antibiograms regularly, experts say basing actions against either type of pneumonia should be based on patients in the intensive care unit, where the infections are most likely to occur.
"Once clinicians are updated regularly on what bugs are causing VAP and HAP in their hospitals, as well as their sensitivities to specific antibiotics, they can choose the most effective treatment," Dr. Andre C. Kalil, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and director of the Transplant Infectious Diseases Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said in a press release. "This helps individualize care, ensuring patients will be treated with the correct antibiotic as soon as possible."
