title: Prevention of pneumonia in an intensive care unit: a randomized multicenter clinical trial. Intensive Care Unit Group of Infection Control.
abstract: In a randomized multicenter clinical trial on antibiotic prophylaxis, 1,319 patients in 23 ICUs were enrolled over a 4-month period. The end-point of the study was the prevention of early onset pneumonia (EOP), defined as acquired pneumonia diagnosed within 4 days of ICU admission; this accounted for greater than 50% of overall pneumonia. Patients eligible for the study were divided into three groups which received either cefoxitin (2 g iv for three doses/8 h), penicillin G (2 million U iv for four doses/6 h), or no antibiotic (control group). In the overall population, the incidence of EOP was 6.1% in the prophylaxis recipients vs. 7.2% in the control group (a 15.3% reduction). No statistically different rates of pneumonia or death were found among the groups. Patients with impaired reflexes on admission or prolonged ventilatory support were noted to have a lower incidence of EOP and an improved outcome when treated with cefoxitin.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mandelli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mosconi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Langer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cigada
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002440:Cefoxitin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D010400:Penicillin G / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011292:Premedication; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D002440:Cefoxitin; D010400:Penicillin G