| Description |
Cystic fibrosis is a genetically inherited disease that occurs in one out every 2000 live caucasian births, and is the most common lethal, genetic disease of caucasians. the inheritance of this disease appears to follow an autosomal recessive pattern, and approximately five percent of Americans are asymptomatic carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene. the majority of cystic fibrosis patients present with a triad of characteristic signs: obstructive pulmonary disease, pancreatic achylia, and increased sweat sodium chloride concentration. Pulmonary complications have accounted for as much as 90% of the mortality associated with cystic fibrosis, and recurrent pulmonary infections requiring hospitalizations continue to be the major cause of the morbidity, mortality, and expense that these patients and their families suffer. Pulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis patients are often cause by Staphylococcus aureus early in the disease, but as the disease progresses over time, most patients eventually become infected and/or colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a gram-negative microorganism with a known propensity for antimicrobial resistance. Aztreonam is the first of a new class of beta-lactam antibiotics called monobactams. The monobactam antibiotics differ from other beta-lactam antibiotics in that they are completely synthetic in origin, and the beta-lactam ring is not fused to another ring system as in the penicillins and cephalosporins. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of aztreonam in the treatment of gram-negative pneumonia in patients with cystic fibrosis. Aztreonam has been shown in preliminary studies to be effective in the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. A more effective antipseudomonal agent may help increase the life expectancy of cystic fibrosis patients, as well as help control the high health care costs these patient incur. |
