Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Aug;54(2):566-9.
doi: 10.1093/jac/dkh369. Epub 2004 Jul 21.

Combination therapy with polymyxin B for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative respiratory tract infections

Magdalena E Sobieszczyk  1 , E Yoko Furuya, Christine M Hay, Preeti Pancholi, Phyllis Della-Latta, Scott M Hammer, Christine J Kubin
Affiliations

Combination therapy with polymyxin B for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative respiratory tract infections

Magdalena E Sobieszczyk et al. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2004 Aug.

Abstract

Background: The treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative organisms poses a therapeutic challenge. The use of polymyxin B has been resurrected specifically for this purpose.

Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and microbiological efficacy, and safety profile of polymyxin B in the treatment of MDR Gram-negative bacterial infections of the respiratory tract. Twenty-five critically ill patients received a total of 29 courses of polymyxin B administered in combination with another antimicrobial agent.

Results: Patients were treated with intravenous, and/or aerosolized polymyxin B. Mean duration of polymyxin B therapy was 19 days (range 2-57 days). End of treatment mortality was 21%, and overall mortality at discharge was 48%. Nephrotoxicity was observed in three patients (10%) and did not result in discontinuation of therapy.

Conclusions: Polymyxin B in combination with other antimicrobials can be considered a reasonable and safe treatment option for MDR Gram-negative respiratory tract infections in the setting of limited therapeutic options.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms