[Pulmonary diffusion of antibiotics. Critical analysis of the literature].
OBJECTIVE
Collect exhaustive data from the literature concerning the diffusion of antibiotics into lung tissue and calculate their inhibitory quotient towards the germs most frequently encountered in pulmonary infections.


METHODS
Review of the literature. Data collected from the Medline database with the key words: lung, diffusion, disposition, antibiotics. Inhibitory quotients calculated from these data.


RESULTS
The results were relatively similar for the different types of samples, though some differences existed between the studies. These differences were caused in particular by methodological difficulties for the tissue dosage of antibiotics.


CONCLUSIONS
Further standardized studies, measuring in particular the antibiotic concentration in the epithelial lining fluid and in the alveolar macrophages, are necessary to obtain more reliable results in terms of inhibitory quotients. Only clinical studies, perhaps with the help of these data, could establish the real efficiency of antibiotics in lung infections.
Boselli
E
E
Service d'anesthésie-réanimation, Hôtel-Dieu, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 69288 Lyon, France.
Allaouchiche
B
B
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D004058:Diffusion; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
Diffusion pulmonaire des antibiotiques. Analyse critique de la littérature.