Bacterial resistance raises doubts about pneumonia antibiotic use

Professor Allen Cheng is an infectious diseases physician
at the Alfred

by Anne Crawford

Monash University scientists reviewing an antibiotic commonly used to treat pneumonia have concluded that it may no longer be reliable as a monotherapy for serious infections due to bacterial resistance.

Macrolide antibiotics, which include erythromycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin, are an important class of antimicrobials for pneumococcal diseases.

However, a report by Professor Allen Cheng from the Department of Infectious Diseases, and Senior Adjunct lecturer Dr Adam Jenney found that macrolide,  most commonly used in combination with effective antibiotics such as penicillin or cephalosporins, may not be reliable as monotherapy for serious pneumococcal disease.

Research: A rare but serious cause of community-acquired pneumonia

Community-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii (CA-Ab) is a rare but serious cause of community-acquired pneumonia in tropical regions of the world. CA-Ab infections predominantly affect individuals with various risk factors and has a high mortality rate (reported up to 64%). Deepening our understanding of the drivers of overwhelming CA-Ab infection will provide important insights into preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Reference: Carina Dexter, Gerald L Murray, Ian T Paulsen, and Anton Y Peleg. Community-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii: clinical characteristics, epidemiology and pathogenesis. May 2015, Vol. 13, No. 5, Pages 567-573 (doi:10.1586/14787210.2015.1025055)

The effectiveness of cough medicine

Infectious Diseases student, Christina Chang has authored an article which found that there is insufficient evidence to decide whether over the counter medications for cough associated with acute pneumonia are beneficial.