Combination therapy for chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa respiratory infection associated with biofilm formation.
There had been no reports of investigations into biofilms in chronic respiratory infection in vivo. Recently, we established a new murine model of chronic respiratory infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the present study, we examined the bacteriological effect of combined clarithromycin and levofloxacin against chronic respiratory infection with P. aeruginosa. Scanning electron micrograph of the surface of the catheter intubated in mouse bronchus for 7 days demonstrated in vivo formation of a biofilm containing blood cells, complex fibrous structures and bacteria. Treatment with either clarithromycin alone or levofloxacin alone had no statistical effect on the number of viable bacteria in lung. The combined use of both drugs resulted in a significant decrease in the number of viable bacteria. The present experiment demonstrates that the newly established murine model was useful to investigate the treatment of biofilm-associated chronic respiratory infection with P. aeruginosa, and combination therapy with clarithromycin and levofloxacin was effective in biofilm-associated chronic respiratory infection.
Yanagihara
K
K
The Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Japan.
Tomono
K
K
Sawai
T
T
Kuroki
M
M
Kaneko
Y
Y
Ohno
H
H
Higashiyama
Y
Y
Miyazaki
Y
Y
Hirakata
Y
Y
Maesaki
S
S
Kadota
J
J
Tashiro
T
T
Kohno
S
S
D000818:Animals; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017291:Clarithromycin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D007440:Intubation; D064704:Levofloxacin; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D015242:Ofloxacin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000502:physiology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*
D064704:Levofloxacin; D015242:Ofloxacin; D017291:Clarithromycin