Clinical response to ertapenem in severe community-acquired pneumonia: a retrospective series in an elderly population

Guía de consenso para el abordaje de la neumonía adquirida en la comunidad en el paciente anciano

La incidencia de la neumonía adquirida en la comunidad se incrementa con la edad y se asocia a una elevada morbimortalidad debido a los cambios fisiológicos asociados al envejecimiento y a una mayor presencia de enfermedades crónicas. Debido a la importancia que tiene desde un punto de epidemiológico y pronóstico, y a la enorme heterogeneidad descrita en el manejo clínico, creemos que existía la necesidad de realizar un documento de consenso específico para este perfil de paciente. El propósito de este fue realizar una revisión de las evidencias en relación con los factores de riesgo para la etiología, la presentación clínica, el manejo y el tratamiento de la neumonía adquirida en la comunidad en los ancianos con el fin de elaborar una serie de recomendaciones específicas basadas en el análisis crítico de la literatura. Este documento es fruto de la colaboración de diferentes especialistas en representación de la Sociedad Española de Medicina de Urgencias y Emergencias (SEMES), Sociedad Española de Geriatría y Gerontología (SEGG), Sociedad Española de Quimioterapia (SEQ), Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna (SEMI), Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica (SEPAR), Sociedad Española de Hospitalización a Domicilio (SEHAD) y Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica (SEIMC).

Antibiotic expected effectiveness and cost under real life microbiology: evaluation of ertapenem and ceftriaxone in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia for elderly patients in Spain

Background

Clinical efficacy of antibiotics may be affected by changes in the susceptibility of microorganisms to antimicrobial agents. The purpose of this study is to assess how these changes could affect the initial efficacy of ertapenem and ceftriaxone in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in elderly patients and the potential consequences this may have in health care costs.

Methods

Initial efficacy in elderly was obtained from a combined analysis of two multicenter, randomized studies. An alternative scenario was carried out using initial efficacy data according to the pneumonia severity index (PSI). Country-specific pathogens distribution was obtained from a national epidemiological study, and microbiological susceptibilities to first- and second-line therapies were obtained from Spanish or European surveillance studies. A decision analytic model was used to compare ertapenem versus ceftriaxone for CAP inpatient treatment. Inputs of the model were the expected effectiveness previously estimated and resource use considering a Spanish national health system perspective. Outcomes include difference in proportion of successfully treated patients and difference in total costs between ertapenem and ceftriaxone. The model performed one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.

Results

First-line treatment of CAP with ertapenem led to a higher proportion of successfully treated patients compared with ceftriaxone in Spain. One-way sensitivity analysis showed that length of stay was the key parameter of the model. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that ertapenem can be a cost-saving strategy compared with ceftriaxone, with a 59% probability of being dominant (lower costs with additional health benefits) for both, elderly patients (>65 years) and patients with PSI >3.

Conclusion

The incorporation of the current antimicrobial susceptibility into the initial clinical efficacy has a significant impact in outcomes and costs in CAP treatment. The treatment with ertapenem compared with ceftriaxone resulted in better clinical outcomes and lower treatment costs for two segments of the Spanish population: elderly patients and patients with severe pneumonia (PSI >3).

Guidelines for the management of adult lower respiratory tract infections--summary

This document is an update of Guidelines published in 2005 and now includes scientific publications through to May 2010. It provides evidence-based recommendations for the most common management questions occurring in routine clinical practice in the management of adult patients with LRTI. Topics include management outside hospital, management inside hospital (including community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD), acute exacerbations of bronchiectasis) and prevention. The target audience for the Guideline is thus all those whose routine practice includes the management of adult LRTI.

Guidelines for the management of adult lower respiratory tract infections--full version

This document is an update of Guidelines published in 2005 and now includes scientific publications through to May 2010. It provides evidence-based recommendations for the most common management questions occurring in routine clinical practice in the management of adult patients with LRTI. Topics include management outside hospital, management inside hospital (including community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD), acute exacerbations of bronchiectasis) and prevention. Background sections and graded evidence tables are also included. The target audience for the Guideline is thus all those whose routine practice includes the management of adult LRTI.

Antimicrobial susceptibilities and serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from elderly patients with pneumonia and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In the elderly, Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of pneumonia and one of the most frequently isolated pathogens in cases of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). This study was conducted to compare the pneumococcal isolates obtained during episodes of AECOPD and pneumonia in patients of ≥65 years old and to analyze whether in patients with AECOPD and pneumonia within a short interval, the same isolate caused both episodes. This laboratory-based study was performed between 2005 and 2008. Pneumococcal isolates from episodes of pneumonia (n = 401) and AECOPD (n = 398), matched one-to-one by date of isolation, were characterized. The serotypes and genotypes of other pneumococcal isolates causing pneumonia and AECOPD in the same patient were compared. In patients with pneumonia, COPD as an underlying disease was not associated with more-drug-resistant pneumococci. In contrast, isolates causing AECOPD showed higher rates of resistance than those causing pneumonia. Serotypes 1, 3, and 7F were more frequent in pneumonia. The same pneumococcus was involved in 25.7% (9/35 patients) of patients with two consecutive AECOPD episodes but in only 6.3% (2/32 patients) of COPD patients with pneumonia and exacerbation (Fisher's exact test; P = 0.047). Less invasive serotypes were isolated more often in AECOPD and were more resistant to antimicrobials. The presence of a specific pneumococcal serotype in AECOPD does not predict the etiology of subsequent pneumonia.