title: Appropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy of nosocomial pneumonia: the role of the carbapenems.
abstract: Nosocomial pneumonia is the leading cause of death in patients with hospital-acquired infections. The development of nosocomial pneumonia prolongs hospitalization, which may cause additional days in the intensive care unit, thereby increasing overall health care costs. Empiric treatment of nosocomial pneumonia with therapies that are subsequently shown to be inappropriate therapy (defined as antimicrobial therapy that does not cover the infecting pathogens) has a detrimental effect on patient survival and can increase morbidity, length of hospital stay, and mortality. Delayed therapy can also have similar consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to begin treatment with the most appropriate regimen as soon as possible. This review considers the early use of appropriate, broad-spectrum empiric antimicrobial therapy for treating patients with nosocomial pneumonia and describes where and when the carbapenems are particularly useful. The carbapenems are active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, including anaerobes; resistance to carbapenems remains rare.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8052, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St Louis MO 63110, USA. mkollef@im.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Marin H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kollef
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015780:Carbapenems / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015780:Carbapenems