Antibiotics

ANTBIOTICS

1929 Flemming A. "On the antibacterial action of cultures of a penicillium, with special reference to their use in the isolation of B. influenza." Br J Exp Pathol 1929; 10: 226–36.
Alexander Flemming (1881-1955) (figure 13) was a Scottish bacteriologist, working at St Mary’s Hospital, London, whose discovery of penicillin (1928) prepared the initial step towards the highly effective practice of antibiotic therapy for infectious diseases. In 1945 Fleming shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Ernst Boris Chain (1906-1979) and Howard Walter Florey (1898-1968) who both (from 1939) were responsible for carrying forward Fleming's initial observation by further isolation, purification, testing, and quantity production of penicillin
In 1940 a report was issued describing how penicillin had been found to be a chemotherapeutic agent capable of killing sensitive germs in the living body. Thereafter great efforts were made, with government assistance, to enable sufficient quantities of the drug to be made for use in World War II to treat servicemen with war wounds.
Penicillin became available for a few patients with CF in the USA in 1943 and the results were reported by Paul di Sant’Agnese (1944 below) – prior to this virtually all children with CF died in infancy or early childhood from Staphylococcal pneumonia and malnutrition.

Figure 13: Sir Alexander Flemming. From www.scotlandvacations.com with permission.

Figure 14: Ernest Duchesne. From Wikipedia.

It is noteworthy that Flemming failed to develop his 1929 discovery – this was done over 10 years later by Florey and Chain. Nor was Flemming the first to observe the antibacterial effects of moulds. Ernest Duchesne (1874 –1912) (figure 14) was a French physician who noted that certain moulds kill bacteria. He made this discovery thirty-two years before Alexander Fleming observed the antibiotic properties of penicillin, a substance derived from those moulds, but his research went unnoticed. Duchesne entered l'Ecole du Service de Santé Militaire de Lyon (the Military Health Service School of Lyon) in 1894. Duchesne's thesis, “Contribution à l’étude de la concurrence vitale chez les micro-organismes: antagonisme entre les moisissures et les microbes” (Contribution to the study of vital competition in micro-organisms: antagonism between moulds and microbes), that he submitted in 1897 to get his doctorate degree, was the first study to consider the therapeutic capabilities of moulds resulting from their anti-microbial activity. Duchesne had made his breakthrough by observing how the Arab stable boys at the army hospital kept their saddles in a dark and damp room to encourage mould to grow on them. When he asked why, they told him that the mould helped to heal the saddle sores on the horses. Intrigued, Duchesne prepared a solution of the mould and injected it into a series of diseased guinea pigs. All recovered.
In a series of meticulous experiments, Duchesne studied the interaction between Escherichia coli and Penicillium glaucum, showing that the latter was able to completely eliminate the former in a culture containing only these two organisms. He also showed that an animal inoculated with a normally lethal dose of typhoid bacilli would be free of the disease if the animal was also inoculated with Penicillium glaucum. Unfortunately, as he was only 23 years old and unknown, the Institut Pasteur did not even acknowledge receipt of his dissertation! He urged more research but unfortunately his army service, after getting his degree, prevented him from doing any further work. Considerable attention has been allotted to penicillin as before the availability of penicillin few infants with CF survived infancy. It was the introduction of penicillin and later other antibiotics which was the main development that permitted survival beyond infancy.

1946 Di Sant’Agnese PA, Andersen DH. Celiac Syndrome IV Chemotherapy in infections of the respiratory tract associated with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas; observations with penicillin and drugs of the sulphonamide group, with special reference to penicillin aerosol. Am J Dis Child 1946; 72:17-61.
This is the first report of the use of penicillin in cystic fibrosis. In 1943 a small quantity of penicillin had become available from the US Army to treat three children with CF and a further 2 in 1944 with intramuscular penicillin; the results were variable. Bryson and co-workers at the Carnegie Foundation were first to investigate the use nebulised penicillin (Bryson et al, Science 1944; 100:33). In 1944 Alvan Barach of the Presbyterian Hospital was using a penicillin aerosol to treat asthma and bronchiectasis (Barach et al, Ann Int Med 1945; 22:485). Similar apparatus was used by di Sant 'Agnese for these children with CF; it consisted of a rubber mask with re-breathing bag and nebuliser with a flow of oxygen into the nebuliser (figure 10).

Figure 10: Nebuliser used for administration of penicillin.

Figure 11: Dr Paul di Sant'Agnese. From Doershuk CF. Cystic fibrosis in the 20th Century. AM Publishing, Ltd. Cleveland, Ohio, 2001. With permission of Dr Carl Doershuk.

This is an interesting first report describing early treatment in CF and in particular the first use of nebulised penicillin 20,000 units seven times daily with or without intramuscular penicillin 160,000 units daily. According to di Sant’Agnese, dramatic response occurred in 15 infants and young children with CF who eventually received the treatment but little success was achieved in infants less than a year old.
From 1947 there were numerous publications on the use of the recently available penicillin in other conditions by various routes both oral, by aerosol and even powdered inhalations – no less than 18 such publications were reviewed in The 1948 Year Book of Pediatrics. (Poncher HG (ed). Year Book Publishers. Chicago). Undoubtedly a new era of treatment of infection had begun.

Di Sant’Agnese (1914 - 2005) (figure 11) wrote that “Penicillin is the first drug known to affect the course of fibrocystic disease after cyanosis has marked the existence of suppurative Staphylococcal bronchitis”. Later, in 2001, he recalled “In most patients the results (of penicillin treatment) were dramatic. From death’s door, slowly dying from chronic pulmonary disease while we watched helplessly, patients revived in a few days”. Sulphonamides were said to be useful in prophylaxis and for intercurrent infections but not after the stage of suppurative bronchitis.

Dr Lynn Taussig, who worked with di Sant’Agnese, later recalls that Paul di Sant’Agnese and Harry Shwachman were definite rivals but had considerable respect for each other. Di Sant’Agnese came from a noble family in Italy. His father was an obstetrician and radiotherapy expert who was physician to the Italian Royal Family. Paul went to Rome medical school and then came to USA in 1939 to study medicine in New York. He was chief resident in paediatrics and published his first paper on tick paralysis - as initially he worked in infectious disease and immunology; he studied the effect of immunisations in early life. He went to work with Dorothy Andersen at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York. In 1950 he described glycogen storage disease of the heart (Pompe’s disease) and as a gastroenterologist in the early 1950s he wrote on coeliac disease.
In 1953 his observation of abnormal sweat electrolytes in CF was one of the most important observations in the history of CF and provided the basis of the sweat test (Di Sant’Agnese et al, 1953 below). He wrote over 140 papers mostly on CF - physicochemical differences, mucoproteins, calcium in secretions, and with West the first report of pulmonary function tests, pneumothorax, ventilation, pancreas, duodenal contents, and measurements of absorption. He was the first to describe the liver changes - a few months before Shwachman’s group. He had an interest in every aspect of the condition. But the patient always came first and he was an outstanding clinician as well as a gifted researcher. In 1955 he was involved with the medical aspects of the CF Foundation. In 1960 in Europe he met Archie Norman, David Lawson, and the International Cystic Fibrosis and Mucoviscidosis Association (ICFMA) had 28 delegates and guests from 14 countries. Di Sant’Agnese said he was most proud of training so many associates and colleagues in CF care and research. “If your plan is for one year, plant rice, if for 10 years plant trees, if for life – educate!”
In 1946 this present paper on the use of penicillin for fibrocystic disease, with special reference to aerolised penicillin, was the first publication on the use of this new antibiotic in cystic fibrosis.

1949 Shwachman H, Crocker AC, Foley GE, Patterson PR. Aureomycin therapy for the pulmonary involvement of pancreatic fibrosis (mucoviscidosis). N Eng J Med 1949; 241:185-192. [PubMed]
The first enthusiastic report of favourable response of children with CF to the wide spectrum antibiotic aureomycin - indeed Shwachman was the first to use this broad spectrum antibiotic in cystic fibrosis. Aureomycin had been used from September 1948 –“the substitution of an orally effective antibiotic such as aureomycin for the expensive and more difficult form of aerosol therapy has obvious merits”. Nebulized penicillin and streptomycin was routine treatment at the time. Thirty five children were treated with aureomycin for up to 4.5 months with excellent results in 31 and most of the Staphylococci remained sensitive. However, diarrhoea was a frequent complication and “the appearance of Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and fungi overgrowing or replacing the initial flora” were observed repeatedly “reminiscent as seen after prolonged penicillin and streptomycin therapy”.
So already prolonged use of antibiotics was resulting in a change of the bacterial flora from S. aureus to gram negative organisms including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

1950 Koyama Y, Kurosawa A, Tsuchiya A, Takakuta K. A new antibiotic, colistin, produced by spore-forming soil bacteria. J Antibiot Tokyo. 1950; 3:457.
The antibiotic colistin was discovered by Koyama et al in 1949, as a fermentation product of the bacteria Bacillus colistinus and the discovery had a direct bearing on the treatment of CF. At first the drug was given intramuscularly (and apparently it was very painful) and in 1959 an intravenous formulation (colistimethate sodium) was released commercially; but this was temporarily abandoned in the Seventies due to reports of a high incidence of nephrotoxicity (Price et al, 1970; Koch-Weser et al, 1970) and also there was increasing use of intravenous gentamicin from 1968. Later the early clinical reports of toxicity with colistin were considered as likely to have occurred as a result of inappropriate patient selection and higher dosing than was recommended and inappropriate monitoring (Li et al, 2005). However, interest in colistin was rekindled following a rise in the prevalence of multiresistant Gram-negative strains most of which were sensitive to colomycin and particularly following the report of its use in the successful early eradication of P. aeruginosa in children with cystic fibrosis (Littlewood et al, 1985 below). Nebulised colistin is now widely used for the treatment of both chronic infections and the early eradication of P. aeruginosa in people with cystic fibrosis (Littlewood et al, A ten year review of colomycin. Resp Med 2000; 94:632-640.2000 below).

1951 Poncher HG. Year Book of Pediatrics. Chicago: Year Book Publishers, 1951: 128-129.
An interesting comment from Dr Henry Poncher, the Editor of the 1951 Year Book of Pediatrics, on the increasing survival of people with CF and the more frequent isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, possibly as a result of prolonged antibiotic therapy. He has prophetic comments on the likely causes - “For future progress, control of Pseudomonas infections is necessary” – an astute and relevant observation as it turned out! The interruption of therapy when immediate effects have been achieved and the use of two antibiotics having different mechanisms of action are mentioned as reasonable practices.
So already the obvious benefits of repeated and prolonged use of antibiotics were apparent but also their adverse effects were reported particularly as they related to repeated and prolonged use, with suggestions as to how these could be reduced. The tendency to use repeated and prolonged courses of antibiotics brought new problems of bacterial resistance, toxicity, and drug allergies. The change in predominant bacterial flora from Staphylococcus aureus to P. aeruginosa appeared to be related to the frequent and prolonged use of antibiotics.

1952 Shwachman H, Silverman BK, Patterson Zheutlin LJ. Antibiotics in treatment of pancreatic fibrosis with emphasis on terramycin. JAMA 1952; 149:1101-1108. [PubMed]
Terramycin, aureomycin and mixed varied antibiotic treatments were compared. All those on terramycin, most of those on aureomycin and the mixed group responded well. Terramycin was introduced in early 1950 and well tolerated. Shwachman mentions the importance of early diagnosis and prolonged treatment also the value of nebulised penicillin and streptomycin (the value of which later he seemed to doubt). As with aureomycin, withdrawal of terramycin led to relapse and it was decided to use the drugs continuously – the subject of a subsequent report of patients so treated (Shwachman et al, 1954 below).

1952 Wallenstein L, Snyder J. Neurotoxic reactions to Chloromycetin. Ann Int Med 1952; 36:1526-1528.
The first report of some of the serious side effects of chloramphenicol (the antibiotic first became available in 1951) in a 24 year-old patient with ulcerative colitis after 4 months continuous treatment with the antibiotic.The lady developed loss of vision, optic and peripheral neuritis but fortunately this settled when the drug was stopped. This is the first of a number of reports of chloramphenicol toxicity following prolonged use (Keith CG. Arch Dis Child 1966; 41:262-266; Harley RD et al. Trans Am Acad Ophthalmol Otolaryngol 1970; 74:1011-1031). Lasky MA et al. (JAMA 1953; 151:1403-1404) reported a boy aged 14 with Staphylococcal endocarditis who had 6 g of chloramphenicol daily for 6 weeks and developed optic neuritis; later there was no recovery of vision.
The first reports of side effects in people with CF, who also required prolonged courses of antibiotics, was some 10 years later (Denning et al, 1963 below; Huang NN. J Pediatr 1966; 68:32-44 below).

1954 Shwachman H, Catzel P, Patterson PR, Stoppelman MRH. Mucoviscidosis: an evaluation of continuous and prolonged antibiotic therapy. Am J Dis Child 1954; 88: 380-382. (Meeting presentation by invitation)
One hundred and twenty three patients had received continuous antibiotic therapy (Aureomycin or Terramycin) for six months to over six years. Broad spectrum antibiotics had been introduced first in 1949. The results were least satisfactory in advanced cases. There was no evidence therapy prevented onset of chest disease but it could control symptoms for prolonged periods. The age of onset of cough influenced survival – the outlook was bad if the onset was at less than three months. Fifty six showed progressive changes (33 alive and 23 had died), 24 were unchanged and five improved during the period of antibiotic therapy. Between 1945-54 the average age of death was 45.2 months; up to 1949 the age of death was only 12.8 months.

The discussion at this meeting ranged from concerned speculation of patients surviving and “breeding” (!) which would be “disastrous”, to whether the patients would have done as well with discontinuous therapy – had Shwachman more “survivors” in his series a questioner asked? In reply Shwachman contrasts his figures with the UK figures reported by Martin Bodian (1952) which reflect the impressive results achieved by Shwachman and his colleagues as follows-
BODIAN SERIES vs. SHWACHMAN SERIES
Total number of patients 116 vs. 123; Dead 68 (57% vs. 22 (18%); Alive 47 (41%) vs. 101 (87%);
>5 years 15 (13%) vs. 61 (50%)

1954 Stoppelman MR, Shwachman H. Effect of antibiotic therapy on mucoviscidosis: bacteriologic study on 140 patients. N Eng J Med 1954; 251:759-763. [PubMed]
A review of the beneficial effects of antibiotic therapy in CF – treatment which had then been available for about 10 years since the mid-Forties. Mildly affected children had chlortetracycline or oxytetracycline; the worst affected had sulphadiazine, chloramphenicol or erythromycin. The worst affected patients also had short courses of penicillin and streptomycin aerosol therapy. Most patients still had S. aureus as the main pathogen - mostly still sensitive to penicillin but resistant to chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline.
A major difference from modern CF therapy was that intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy was rarely used as venous access in children, and particularly repeated and prolonged venous access, was still a major technical problem. Single episodes where IV access was required were often managed by cutting down on a vein at the ankle and inserting a metal cannula which was tied in; this would last for some days. Of course, the vein was lost for future use as it had been ligated so the method was unsuitable for repeated venous access for which other techniques were developed subsequently such as scalp vein needles, venous long lines and eventually totally implantable venous access devices.

1958 Shwachman H, Fekete E, Kulczycki LL, Foley GE. Effect of long term antibiotic therapy in patients with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas. Antibiot Ann 1958-59; 692-699. [PubMed]

Figure 20: Teeth stained by tetracycline

An early (possibly the first) report of severe yellow discolouration of the teeth due to tetracycline (figure 20) , an antibiotic which had become available between 1948-1950. Discolouration of the teeth was present in 80% of young children with CF receiving long term tetracycline prophylaxis; many subsequent reports have confirmed the problem (Zegarelli EV et al. Oral Surg Oral Med oral Pathol 1962; 15:929-933; Appelbaum E et al ibid 1964; 17: 366-367; Witkop CJ, Wolf RO. JAMA 1963; 185:1008-1011). Tetracycline is deposited in growing bone by forming complexes with the bone mineral.

1960 Young WF. Ototoxicity to neomycin aerosol. Lancet 1960; i: 1103.

Figure 8: Dr Winifred Young.

This letter to the Lancet from Winifred Young (1909-1969) (figure 8), of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children, London, followed closely a report from the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, of two children with CF who had received nebulised neomycin for 34 months and 26 months respectively and who had become severely deaf (Fuller A. Ototoxicity of neomycin aerosol. Lancet 1960; i: 1026). Winifred Young responded that the patients were part of a series of children treated at her CF clinic at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children, London and both the children had very severe chest involvement – in fact, both had since died. Dr Young and her otological colleagues “had been able to reassure herself that neomycin aerosol can be used for many months without risk of ototoxicity”.
Despite this reassurance, the use of long term nebulised neomycin was eventually abandoned due to ototoxicity – at that time it was not appreciated that inhaled antibiotics could be absorbed in significant amounts. Inhaled neomycin was first described as a treatment for CF in 1956 (Gibbs GE & Raskin J. Antibiotic Med Clin Therapy 1956;2:332-336). [PubMed] A case report of ototoxicity appeared in 1959 (Greenwood GJ. AMA Arch Otolaryngol 1959; 69:390-397). [PubMed] and in a number of reports in the early Sixties although most reports of ototoxicity and CF concern the aminoglycosides.

1960 Zegarelli EV, Denning CR, Kutscher Tuoti F, di Sant’Agnese PA. Discolouration of the teeth in patients with cystic fibrosis. Pediatrics 1960; 26:1050
There was severe discoloration of the teeth in 38 of 52 children and adolescents with CF. In 31 the deciduous teeth were involved, the permanent teeth in 18 and both in 11. The authors noted that tetracycline had been involved in animals and speculated that antibiotic therapy “might conceivably contribute to the discolouration by deposition in the teeth”. In 1959 Shwachman et al. had recognised tooth staining (Antibiot Ann 1958-1959, 692-699) (figure 20 in Shwachman et al, 1958 above). Subsequently Zegarelli, usually with Carolyn Denning of New York, published 11 papers on tooth discoloration. Tetracycline is deposited in growing bone and teeth by complexing with the bone mineral (Witkop CJ, Wolf RO. JAMA 1963; 185:1008-1011). Subsequently tetracyclines were avoided in children under seven years of age and also by pregnant women.
The dangers of some drugs taken by the mother during pregancy were becoming apparent at this time - particualrly the thalidomide tragedy which came to light in the early Sixties after over 10,000 infants had been born with various limb deformities betwenn 1956 and 1962 as a result of their mothers taking the drug during pregnancy.

1962 Wallman IS, Hilton HB. Teeth pigmented by tetracycline. Lancet 1962; i: 827-829. [PubMed]
A report from the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Perth, Australia. This is an early report of “tetracycline teeth”, although the authors noted that Shwachman had described tooth discolouration in 40 of 50 children who had long term treatment with tetracycline (Antibiotics Annual. New York. 1958:692). (also Zagaralli et al, 1960 above and 1963 below).
The present authors noted pigmentation of infant’s teeth at a maternity hospital follow-up clinic; many of those affected had not been jaundiced – the usual explanation given for tooth discolouration. The co-author Hilton had previously observed skeletal pigmentation with tetracycline, so the possibility of a relation to tetracycline administration was investigated. 50 out of 64 babies had received tetracycline in the newborn period and 46 had yellow or brown pigmentation of their teeth with or without enamel hypoplasia. The more tetracycline, the greater the change in tooth colour. Earlier Buyske et al had noted bone pigmentation by tetracycline and chlorotetracycline in animals (Buyske DA et al. J Pharmacol 1960; 130:150)

1963 Pino G, Conterno G, Colongo PG. Clinical observations on the activity of aerosol colomycin and of endobronchial instillations of colomycin in patients with pulmonary suppurations. Minerva Medica 1963; 54:2117-2122. [PubMed]
One of the early reports of colomycin, administered as an aerosol, achieving “satisfactory blood levels”. Reference is also made to Mensi E (1958) in this paper. Colomycin has had three phases of popularity in treating people with cystic fibrosis.

Phase 1 As Gram negative infections, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Ps. pyocyanea as it was then), became more of a problem during the Sixties, intramuscular colomycin was the only effective injectable antibiotic. Robert Stern recalls how, in the early Sixties, he first started infusions of intravenous colomycin in Cleveland prompted by the extreme pain of the intramuscular injections in an emaciated girl with CF who already had an IV infusion running for hydration purposes. The IV route gradually replaced the painful IM route particularly when carbenicillin became available in 1968. However, when gentamicin became available in 1968 this drug replaced colomycin as first line treatment for P. aeruginosa in people with cystic fibrosis.

Phase 2. Interest revived in nebulised colomycin following the short report from Leeds (Littlewood et al, 1985 below) of the successful eradication of early colonisation with P. aeruginosa in CF using nebulised colomycin - an observation later confirmed in Copenhagen (Valerius et al, 1991, below) and a number of other small studies from Europe. According to Hoiby, nebulised colomycin was also introduced into the treatment of chronically infected patients in Copenhagen in 1987 on the strength of the initial report from Leeds. It is interesting that none of these early reports was accepted in the USA (even the excellent trial of Valerius et al, 1991 with its striking results) and it was some 15 years before early eradication of P. aeruginosa became widespread in the USA.

Phase 3. As most resistant P. aeruginosa remained sensitive to colomycin, the intravenous use was again evaluated for strains of the organism which had become resistant to other antibiotics; it was found to be effective with an acceptable level of side effects (Conway et al, 1997 below)
There was a detailed multi-author ten year review of Colomycin and its role in the treatment of CF published in 2000 (Littlewood JM et al. Respir Med 2000; 94:632-640 below)

1963 Lloyd AV, Grimes G, Khaw KT, Shwachman H. Chloramphenicol for long-term therapy of cystic fibrosis. JAMA 1963; 184:1001-6. [PubMed]
Report of more than three years of daily chloramphenicol in patients with CF without toxic effects in 50 patients studied and in post mortem records of 23 others. Later one fatal case of aplastic anaemia was encountered.(also Denning et al, 1963 above; Huang et al. 1966).

1963 Denning CR, Bruce GM, Spalter HF. Optic neuritis in chloramphenicol treated patients with cystic fibrosis. J Pediatr 1963; 63:878.
The first report of optic neuritis in four children with CF on long term chloramphenicol – a complication which had been reported first in 1952 by Wallstein & Snyder (1952 above) in a woman with inflammatory bowel disease who after five months developed optic neuritis and peripheral neuritis. Later a number of reports in people with CF were reviewed by Harley RD et al (Trans Am Acad Ophthalmol Otol 1970; 74:1011-103). Numbness and tingling of the peripheries preceded the ocular signs which appeared to be related to the total dose received. It was suggested that 25 mg/kg/day for not more than 3 months was relatively safe. Fortunately, visual acuity usually recovered soon after stopping the drug but may recur if treatment was resumed. (Also Huang N et al. J Pedaitr 1966; 68:32-44).

1963 Huang NN, Sproul A, Promadhattavedi V, High RH. Long-term therapy with oxacillin in patients with cystic fibrosis. Antimicrob Agent Chemother 1963; 54:667-672. [PubMed]
A short anecdotal report of long term use of oxacillin (an anti-Staphylococcal antibiotic available since 1962) in 15 patients with CF many of whom were receiving other antibiotics – mainly chloramphenicol. However, it did show that oxacillin was safe and that resistance on the part of S. aureus did not develop even after prolonged use although the organism was eliminated in only three patients – presumably because most had “advanced pulmonary involvement” and chronic entrenched infection by the time the treatment was started.

This is the first report of long term anti-Staphylococcal therapy a treatment now recommended in the UK for children with CF under three years of age although its prophylactic longterm use is still the subject of debate. Essential facts which have become apparent are that resistance to the antibiotic does not develop and the frequency of S. aureus positive cultures is reduced when patients are receiving along term anti-Staphylococcal therapy. The possibility of an increased likelihood of culturing P. aeruginosa becomes less relevant when a policy of early Pseudomonas eradication is routine the clinic - unfortunately this was not the case in North America until recently. Also less likely when a broad spectrum antibiotic is not used. However, In Leeds, where lifelong long term flucloxacillin for most patients has been the policy since 1975 and early eradication of P. aeruginosa has been practised since around 1984 – both the prevalence of chronic S. aureus infection of 14% is low (Southern et al, 1993. In: Clinical ecology of cystic fibrosis. Escobar H et al. (eds). Excerpta Medica Internat Congr Series 1034: 129-132) and chronic P. aeruginosa infection is well below average at 18.1% for the whole clinic and only 4.3% for those children less than 11 years of age (Lee et al, 2004, below).

1966 Huang NN, Harley RD, Promadhattavedi V, Sproul A. Visual disturbances in cystic fibrosis following chloramphenicol administration. J Pediatr 1966; 68:32-44. [PubMed]
There were visual changes in nine (27%) of 33 patients with CF who had received chloramphenicol in total doses of 81-283 g. The authors mention another patient treated with 135 g of chloramphenicol over 4.5 months (Cocke JG, et al. J Pediatr 1966; 68:27). The authors state that although visual disturbances had been described in children with CF and advanced respiratory disease (Bruce et al. Arch Ophth 1960; 63:391) only advanced respiratory changes were present as an explanation; however, these authors later described four children with eye changes due to chloramphenicol (Denning et al. J Pediat 1963; 63:878) as did Huang et al. (3rd Interscience Conference Antimicrob Chemother 1963:79). Such patients with eye changes had always received prolonged treatment with chloramphenicol. The eye symptoms usually improved when the drug was stopped. Regular tests of vision were advised when the drug was used for prolonged periods.

1966 Keith CG, de Haller J, Young W F. Side effects to antibiotics in cystic fibrosis: 1. Ocular changes in relation to antibiotic administration and severity of pulmonary involvement. Arch Dis Child 1966; 41:262-266. [PubMed]
Experience of Winifred Young from London - only one of 42 patients had ocular changes from chloramphenicol; 425 g having been given to this patient over 15 months. Various other findings were considered unrelated to drug therapy including four with squint, nine with tortuosity of the retinal vessels, one with blurring of disk margins – appearances considered due to more severe lung disease. Eighteen children had various short course of chloramphenicol with no obvious ill-effects.

1967 Swallow JN, De Haller J, Young WF. Side-effects to antibiotics in cystic fibrosis: dental changes in relation to antibiotic administration. Arch Dis Child 1967; 42: 311-318. [PubMed]
Experience from Dr Winifred Young’s unit in London where 36.5% of 63 children with CF had discoloured teeth due to tetracycline treatment (also above Shwachman H, et al, Antibiot Ann 1958-59; 692 above; Zegarelli et al, Pediatr 1960; 26:1050 above; Wallman IS, Hilton HB. Lancet 1962; i: 827 above).1968 Boxerbaum B, Doershuk CF, Pittman S, Leroy W Matthews. Efficacy and Tolerance of carbenicillin in patients with cystic fibrosis. Antimicrob Agents Ch 1968; 8:239-295. [PubMed]
The authors, from the Cleveland clinic, state that “effective therapy of P. aeruginosa has emerged as one of the principal needs to prevent further damage to the lung”. This is the first report of the use of intravenous carbenicillin in 41 people with cystic fibrosis. Pulmonary function tests improved in 80% of patients and 79% had improved X-ray appearances. There were many subsequent publications on the use of carbenicillin in CF. It is interesting that although colistin (also a polymyxin) was considered to have limited clinical value due to “renal toxicity and their disappointing activity in vivo”, colistin is now a widely used antibiotic in CF for P. aeruginosa both by inhalation and intravenously.

1969 Lawson D. Panel discussion on microbiology and chemotherapy of the respiratory tract in cystic fibrosis. Proc 5th Int CF Conference, Cambridge, 1969. Ed. Lawson D. London. Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust 1969:225. [Conference]
David Lawson was one of the first paediatricians to suggest long term anti-Staphylococcal prophylactic chemotherapy. Eventually this treatment was supported by a controlled trial in CF screened infants in East Anglia, UK (Weaver et al, 1994 below). Prophylactic flucloxacillin is now recommended for all CF infants in the first 3 years by the UK CF Trust’s Expert Antibiotic Group (2002 and 2009) although the findings are not accepted in North America.

I was impressed by David Lawson’s approach and from 1975 all CF children for whom I was responsible were on long term cloxacillin and later flucloxacillin from soon after birth, if screened (from 1975), or from the time of diagnosis. The results of this policy were reported in 1993 by Kevin Southern at the Madrid ECFS meeting. Of 110 patients attending our unit for all their care at that time only 16 (14.5%) had chronic Staph. aureus infection – individual group prevalence in 0-4 years nil, 5-9 yrs 14.7%, 10-15 yrs 22%; furthermore some of those patients had been referred to our clinic already chronically infected with S. aureus. The Leeds CF centres still have most patients on continuous flucloxacillin and there is a very low prevalence of chronic Staphylococcal infection. It is also interesting that despite the publications suggesting anti-Staphylococcal prophylaxis leads to a higher prevalence of Pseudomonas infection, this does not occur if there is also a policy of regular cultures and early Pseudomonas eradication.
David Lawson, whose daughter had CF, was one of the founders of the UK CF Research Trust in 1964. He maintained that earlier diagnosis, by improved neonatal screening, was essential for improvement of results as by the time the diagnosis was presently made lung damage was already present.

1969 Louria DB, Young L, Armstrong D, Smith JK. Gentamicin in the treatment of pulmonary infections. J Infect Dis 1969; 119:483-485. [PubMed]
A report of the use of intravenous gentamicin in a variety of respiratory infections including 30 patients with cystic fibrosis. Intravenous gentamicin was administered over periods ranging from three weeks to 16 months and the response to treatment was classified as good in 20 patients, moderately improved in 7 and ineffective in 3. The drug was reported as often valuable in infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

1970 Harley RD, Huang NN, Macri CH, Green WR. Optic neuritis and optic atrophy following chloramphenicol in cystic fibrosis patients. Trans Am Acad Ophthalmol Otolaryngol 1070; 74:1011-1031. [PubMed]
This is a review of the literature on chloramphenicol toxicity and experience with eye complications in cystic fibrosis. The authors considered that the peripheral numbness, tingling and cramps frequently preceded the ocular signs which were often sudden. Variable ocular signs were seen including both papilloedema and normal disks. Optic neuritis and visual loss were related both to dosage and duration of treatment. 25 mg/kg/day for not more than 3 months appeared to be safe. Fortunately, most patients’ visual acuity returned soon after stopping the drug.

1970 Wright GLT, Harper J. Fusidic acid and lincomycin therapy in Staphylococcal infections in cystic fibrosis. Lancet 1979; i:9-14. [PubMed]
This report from Brisbane showed the superiority of lincomycin and fusidic acid combination in eradicating Staphylococcus aureus in 16 patients with cystic fibrosis. Later John Brown from Sydney describing 718 courses of anti-Staphylococcal treatment mentions Wright and Harper’s paper and demonstrated the superiority of clindamycin with or without fusidic acid over all other regimens (Brown J. Aust Paediatr J 1980; 16:207-209).

1971 Huang NN, Hiller EJ, Macri CM, Capitanio M, Cundy KR. Carbenicillin in patients with cystic fibrosis: clinical pharmacology and therapeutic evaluation. J Pediatr 1971; 78:338-345. [PubMed]
Further work on carbenicillin, the relatively new intravenous anti-Pseudomonal antibiotic introduced in 1968. (also Bauxerbaum et al, 1968 above).

1972 Stern RC, Doershuk CF, Matthews LW. Use of a heparin lock to administer intermittent intravenous drugs. Clin Ped 1972; 11:521-523. [PubMed]
The first report of the use of heparin locks for giving repeated doses of intravenous antibiotics to children with CF. Stern was the first to use colistin intravenously in CF and was closely involved in the development of intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy. The first of his patients were treated at home from 1973 when a 15 year old girl worked as a waitress while receiving IV antibiotics via a heparin lock. Stern writes - “an early, if not the first, pioneer who self administered IV medications while continuing to work and pursue other normal out-of-hospital activities”. Other centres followed (Rucker & Harrison, 1974 below). Crozier in Toronto reported using IV gentamicin and carbenicillin in 1974 for Pseudomonas infections (Crozier, 1974 below).
Robert Stern gives an interesting account of his early use of the intravenous route, instead of the painful intramuscular route, for colomycin in the mid-Sixties. Colomycin, was the only parenteral antibiotic in the early Sixties, later to be replaced by intravenous gentamicin and soon after carbenicillin and piperacillin became available. He describes the early developments including the heparin lock in the early Seventies, the gradual involvement of the patients with CF in managing their own IV therapy first in hospital and eventually at home (Stern RC. Intravenous treatment: where we are and how we got there. In: Doershuk CF, editor. Cystic Fibrosis in the Twentieth Century. Cleveland: AM Publishing, Ltd, 2001:93-111).

1974 Rucker RW, Harrison GM. Outpatient intravenous medications in the management of cystic fibrosis. Pediatrics 1974; 54:358-360. [PubMed]
One of the first reports of home intravenous antibiotic treatment from Texas – the first author was supported by a Clinical Fellowship Grant from the CF Research Foundation. They report a scalp vein needle and tube were used as a heparin lock and usually required replacing once during the 10 to 12 day course. Mainly gentamicin but also colistin was used in 127 courses in 62 patients with a 68% success rate and no major complications. Seven of the failures subsequently died.
Robert Stern, who had already described the use of the “Heparin lock” (Stern RC et al. Clin Pediat 1972; 11:521) recalls starting home IV antibiotics in the early Seventies in Cleveland when a 15 year old asked if her heparin lock could be covered with a bandage so she “could leave hospital for a few hours to work at the Pronto Room as a waitress that afternoon”!! (Stern R. In Cystic Fibrosis in the 20th Century. Doershuk CF (ed.) 2001 below).
These reports from N. America were considerably in advance of any from the UK, the first being that of Winter RJD et al. in adults (Lancet 1984; i:1388-1339 below) and Gilbert J et al. in children with CF (Arch Dis Child 1988; 63:512-517 below). So in some large CF centres in N. America, treatment in this respect was certainly more advanced than in the UK. I regret we did not mention this first very impressive report from Texas in our 1988 paper on home intravenous antibiotic treatment (Gilbert et al, 1988).

1975 Baran D, Dachy A, Klastersky J. Concentration of gentamicin in bronchial secretions of children with cystic fibrosis and tracheostomy. (Comparison between the intramuscular route, the endotracheal instillation and aerosolization). Int J Clin Pharmacol 1975; 12:336-341. [PubMed]
Gentamicin levels in blood and bronchial secretions were measured after 40 mg were directly instilled or given by aerosol. High levels (> 20 mug/ml), much greater than after intramuscular injection (< 2 mug/ml); low plasma levels were found by both direct methods. It was concluded that administration of an antibiotic such as gentamicin directly into the trachea by endotracheal injection or by aerolization might prove to be helpful when infection is confined mainly to the tracheobronchial tree. Gentamicin had become available in 1968.

1976 McCrae WM, Raeburn JA, Hanson EJ. Tobramycin therapy of infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with cystic fibrosis: effect and dosage and concentration of antibiotic in sputum. J Inf Dis 1976; 134 Suppl: S191-193. [PubMed]
An early report of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection treated in 17 patients with conventional and larger than conventional doses of intravenous tobramycin. Infection was eradicated in four and it appeared that treatment was most successful in those on the highest doses (12mg/kg/day) who achieved the highest peak serum values than in those on conventional doses (5mg/kg/day).
Most paediatricians were not using IV tobramycin for P. aeruginosa at this time although there had been one previous report using conventional doses (Hawley HB et al. Curr Ther Res 1974; 16:414-415) and a subsequent one using conventional doses plus carbenicillin – the latter both IV and inhaled (Crozier DN, Khan SR. J Inf Dis 1976; 134:187-190).
This paper from Morris McCrae (figure 16) and Sandy Raeburn (figure 16.1) the physician looking after adults in Edinburgh at the time, was the first to suggest that higher doses of IV tobramycin were required for people with CF. Apparently intravenous gentamicin (available since the late Sixties) with carbenicillin had proved disappointing (Marks MI et al. J Pediatr 1971; 79:822-828; Huang NN et al. J Pediatr 1971; 78:338-345).

1979 Loening-Baucke VA, Mischler E, Myers MG. A placebo-controlled trial of cephalexin therapy in the ambulatory management of patients with cystic fibrosis. J Pediatr 1979; 95:630-637. [PubMed]
This trial is often quoted as supporting the view that prophylactic anti-Staphylococcal therapy predisposes to Pseudomonas infection – although most patients included in this trial were already chronically infected with P. aeruginosa at the start of the trial!! Patients received alternate four months of oral cephalexin or placebo over two years. Initially no less than 15 of 17 patients had P. aeruginosa (4 mucoid and 11 non-mucoid) and 10 of 17 had Staphylococcus aureus. Mucoid strains increased (six patients) and disease severity increased in those initially colonised with P. aeruginosa but cephalexin did reduce the frequency of respiratory illnesses and colonisation in patients initially colonised with S. aureus and H. influenzae. Authors concluded that “The long term administration….may be associated with an accelerated rate of colonisation with mucoid strains of P. aeruginosa and the potential for deterioration…”
This small study of 17 patients (of whom 15/17 were already infected with P. aeruginosa!) subsequently has been quoted repeatedly, and in my view quite inappropriately, as showing that long term anti-Staphylococcal therapy causes an increase in P. aeruginosa. Certainly some of the patients with non-mucoid P. aeruginosa converted to the mucoid form during the study, but this would be expected as these were the days before early eradication was thought possible or attempted; but essentially this was a small series of children already chronically infected with P. aeruginosa and certainly no conclusions can be drawn regarding long term anti-Staphylococcal therapy - certainly not about long term narrower spectrum therapy with flucloxacillin.

1980 Rabin HR, Harley FL, Bryan LE, Elfring GL. Evaluation of high dose tobramycin and ticarcillin treatment protocol in cystic fibrosis based on improved susceptibility criteria and antibiotic pharmacokinetics. In Perspectives in Cystic Fibrosis. Ed: Sturgess JM. 8th International Cystic Fibrosis Congress, Toronto, Canada 1980; 370-375.
This paper, although not widely quoted, had a major influence on our approach to intravenous antibiotic treatment in Leeds – indeed to our whole more intensive approach to treating people with cystic fibrosis. At the 1980 Toronto meeting I was very impressed by the team approach and the significant involvement of all the members of the CF team and their obvious professional approach. With Archie Norman and his wife, who were also attending the meeting, I had an opportunity to visit Henry Levison, the paediatrician in charge of the CF Unit at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.
The whole format of the conference at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto was quite new to me. This paper by Rabin and colleagues on intravenous antibiotic therapy was typical of the more professional approach to IV antibiotic therapy appropriate for CF which had been developed during the Seventies in some of the larger North American CF Centres (Stern RC. Intravenous treatment: Where we are and how we got there. In: Doershuk CF, (Ed.). Cystic fibrosis in the twentieth Century. Cleveland: AM Publishing Ltd, 2001:93-111).
The frequent use of intravenous antibiotics for children with CF was not usual practice in most of the UK hospitals in 1980 where the majority of children with CF were still treated by their local general paediatricians.
Certainly this meeting at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto was the start of an increasingly serious involvement in Leeds with the whole field of cystic fibrosis – both research and clinical care. In retrospect, it was undoubtedly the centre/team approach first started by Leroy Matthews in Cleveland and the “Not so fatal disease” Toronto approach of Douglas Crozier (Crozier, 1974 above), that were the central lessons which I took back to Leeds.

1981 Martin AJ, Smalley CA, George RH, Healing DE, Anderson CM. Gentamicin and tobramycin compared in the treatment of mucoid Pseudomonas lung infections in cystic fibrosis. Arch Dis Child 1980; 55:604 – 607. [PubMed]
A small straightforward and practically useful clinical comparison showing the two intravenous antibiotics, when combined with carbenicillin, gave similar results when used for treating respiratory exacerbations in cystic fibrosis. Subsequently gentamicin was shown to be less effective in vitro against Pseudomonas and was definitely the more nephrotoxic and ototoxic of these two aminoglycosides. Therefore tobramycin became the preferred aminoglycoside in most CF clinics. This was a useful review of the use of intravenous aminoglycosides in CF at the time – then a relatively new practice to most UK paediatricians.
It is perhaps a poor reflection on our UK National Health Service that some CF Centres in the UK were still using the more toxic IV gentamicin in 2008 apparently as their laboratory would only estimate blood levels of gentamicin and not tobramycin. A survey of renal failure in CF in 2007 showed virtually all those with episodes of acute renal failure had received gentamicin rather than tobramycin (Bertenshaw et al, 2007 below).

1981 Szaff M, Hoiby N. Antibiotic treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infection in cystic fibrosis. Monogr Paediatr 1981; 14:108-114. [PubMed]
This was a helpful practical account of the Danish regimen for treating S. aureus based on 15 years experience with 209 patients. If the organism was cultured from the airways of a person with CF “anti-Staphylococcal therapy was given whether there were clinical symptoms or not – usually courses of oxacillin and dioxacillin with fusidic acid for 14 days. Chronic infections were given long term treatment for one to three months”. The authors noted no increase in P. aeruginosa from eradicating S. aureus and only 10% of patients in the Danish clinic had developed chronic S. aureus infection – in contrast to the usual 50% prevalence in many CF clinics. Each patient required an average of two courses of anti-staphylococcal antibiotics per year. Only a small increase in the number of S. aureus precipitins was observed.
In the UK David Lawson in London had also prevented the development of precipitins by long term cloxacillin treatment (Lawson D. Arch Dis Child 1976; 51:890-891 above).
In our expanding clinic in Leeds, we found this to be a very useful paper as it gave clear guidance on antibiotics and dosages and also showed that chronic Staphylococcal infection could be prevented by close frequent microbiological monitoring and early treatment with short courses of antibiotics as an alternative to David Lawson’s long term cloxacillin – for some doctors and families were hesitant about long term antibiotic treatment. However, we eventually went for long term flucloxacillin for all patients as recommended by David Lawson and this is still the unit policy resulting in a low overall prevalence of chronic S. aureus infection (14%) compared to many centres (40-50%) and in only 8.3% (5/60) of children under 10 years of age.
It is difficult to understand how chronic infection S. aureus, a known harmful pathogen shown by bronchial lavage studies to result in an inflammatory reaction within the airways, is allowed to remain in so many patients when chronic infection can be prevented. With regard to the influence of this treatment on the prevalence of P. aeruginosa infection, the prevalence of chronic P. aeruginosa in our clinic, where all patients are on long term flucloxacillin, is less than 4% in children under 12 years with CF (Lee et al, 2004 below). However, there has been a policy of early eradication treatment since 1984 and neonatal screening from 1975 neither of which are present in the centres reporting an increase in Pseudomonas with anti-Staphylococcal treatment (Stutman HR et al. J Pediatr 2002; 140:299-305).

1981 Hodson ME, Penketh ARL, Batten JC. Aerosol carbenicillin and gentamicin treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with cystic fibrosis. Lancet 1981; i: 1137-1139. [PubMed]
Another definite landmark paper from the Adult CF Unit at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London. Dr Margaret Hodson (figure 16), later Professor of Cystic Fibrosis there. Professor Hodson was to make many major contributions to the treatment of people with CF from her vast experience at the Brompton Hospital treating many hundreds of adult patients with CF.
This early paper had a major influence on treatment although there had been many earlier concerns about increasing the incidence of bacterial resistance from nebulised antibiotics. Although nebulised penicillin had been used in the Forties when S. aureus was the main pathogen (di Sant’Agnese, et al, 1946 above) it was undoubtedly this present paper that revived the interest in nebulised antibiotics for patients with chronic Pseudomonas infection - particularly in the UK. The nebulised anti-Pseudomonal antibiotics obviously stabilised the condition of some patients with relapsing chronic P, aeruginosa infection who were requiring increasingly frequent courses of IV antibiotics (figure 17) and represented a major milestone in treatment.

As a result of this paper nebulised anti-Pseudomonal antibiotics became widely used in the UK for patients with chronic Pseudomonas infection. In this respect the UK was well in advance of North America where, even in 1986, McLusky and colleagues from Toronto advised that, “until additional well-controlled trials were completed their routine use (of inhaled antibiotics) was not justified because of cost, potential side effects and the propensity to select resistant organisms” (McLusky et al, 1986 below). As it turned out, both the routine use of anti-Pseudomonal antibiotics to suppress chronic infection as recommended by Margaret Hodson in 1991 (Ramsay BW et al, 1999) and the early use of colomycin to eradicate early infection (Littlewood et al, 1985; Valerius et al, 1991) both proved to be effective, proven and eventually widely used treatments for people with CF on both sides of the Atlantic.

1983 Knight RK. Antibiotic doses for bronchiectasis of cystic fibrosis. Lancet 1983; 2:970-971. [PubMed]
One of many publications on CF and various respiratory topics by Dr Ron Knight (figure 21.2) a chest physician who worked at the Brompton Hospital, and subsequently developed his own unit - The Knight Centre - at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey. He had a reputation for intensive treatment at a time when intravenous antibiotic treatment was not so widely or frequently used. His personal involvement, intensive treatment and good results were greatly appreciated to the extent that the patients and families raised the funds for the Knight Centre at Frimley Park Hospital. The recommendation in this letter to use much larger doses of antibiotics is characteristic of his approach, so appropriate for CF, which has persisted to the present day.

1983 Szaff M, Hoiby N, Flensborg EW. Frequent antibiotic therapy improves survival of cystic fibrosis patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Acta Paediatr Scand 1983; 72; 651-657. [PubMed]
This is one of the main reports of improved survival at the Danish CF Centre since starting 3-monthly courses of intravenous anti-Pseudomonal antibiotics for chronically infected patients. During the period 1971-75, 51 chronically infected CF patients were treated with IV antibiotics but only when their condition deteriorated. During the period 1976-80, 58 chronically infected CF patients were treated with regular courses of intravenous antibiotics every three months.
The five year survival of patients from the time of the onset of their chronic P. aeruginosa infection increased from 54% in the first period to 82% in the second period. The authors concluded that intensive "maintenance" chemotherapy against P. aeruginosa improves survival and quality of life of CF patients although permanent eradication of chronic P. aeruginosa is not accomplished.

These results were largely ignored outside Denmark even in Europe. True, this was not a controlled trial and there were problems with the cost of the antibiotics, drug allergies, the patients’ time and quality of life and there were other treatments which could have favourably affected the outcome. It is also particularly relevant that long term nebulised antibiotics, that frequently stabilise the respiratory function of chronically infected patients, were not used at the time of this study.
Unfortunately, even in 2008, there is still no totally adequate controlled trial of this form of regular IV antibiotic treatment although many clinicians have increasingly adopted a policy of very early intervention – which in practice almost amounts to 3-monthly treatments for some patients. One study from the UK comparing 3-monthly elective with symptomatic treatment showed no advantage in elective treatment but even the “treat when symptomatic” group received 3 courses of IV antibiotics annually (Elborn et al, Thorax 2000; 55:355-358 below).

Perhaps the frequency of intravenous antibiotic treatments is best left to the judgement of the clinician and the CF team who know the patient – and last, but not least, to the patient’s opinion! Certainly the availability of effective inhaled antibiotic therapy has influenced the management of the patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection and reduced the need for intravenous antibiotic treatments in some patients.

1984 Winter RJ, George RJ, Deacock SJ, Shee CD, Geddes DM. Self-administered home intravenous antibiotic therapy in bronchiectasis and adult cystic fibrosis. Lancet 1984; i: 1338-1339. [PubMed]
One of the early UK reports of home intravenous antibiotic treatment in cystic fibrosis. Ten patients, eight with CF, and two with advanced bronchiectasis without CF, while being treated in hospital for exacerbations of Pseudomonas infection, were taught how to continue to give themselves intravenous antibiotics at home. In the eight patients, with two or more infective exacerbations within a 12-month period, there was no difference between home and hospital treatments in clinical improvement or in relapse time.
This was a new treatment arrangement and the potential risks of treatment at home caused some people concern at the time. What about the medico legal risks? However, the giving of IV antibiotics at home was a major advance in patient care and a new step in treatment in the UK. Home IV antibiotics had been used in the USA in a few centres some years previously from the early Seventies (Rucker et al, 1974 above; Stern RC. Intravenous treatment: where are we and how we got there? In, Doershuk CF, Ed. Cystic Fibrosis in the 20th Century. AM Publishing Cleveland 2001; 93-111).

Professor Duncan Geddes (figure 24.1) worked at a number of London hospitals including the Royal Brompton where he was involved in many aspects of respiratory disease but particularly with CF both in clinical care and research being a member of the UK Gene Therapy Gene Therapy Consortium. His clear plenary lectures at both European and North American CF conferences were greatly appreciated. Duncan retired in 2008.

1985 Littlewood JM, Miller MG, Ghoneim AT, Ramsden CH. Nebulised colomycin for early Pseudomonas colonisation in cystic fibrosis. Lancet 1985; I: 865. [PubMed]
The first report of the use of nebulised colomycin (figure 28) to eradicate early Pseudomonas infection and, although only a modest letter, was undoubtedly the most important publication of my career!. Eradication had previously been thought to be impossible. Subsequently, and according to Neils Hoiby, as a result of this short letter to the Lancet, in Copenhagen they started a controlled trial of early eradication therapy (Valerius et al, 1991 below) and found their results “confirm and extend the preliminary report by Littlewood and colleagues”. We had been using nebulised colomycin since about 1983/84 when Pseudomonas was first isolated to attempt eradication and after treating seven patients it was quite apparent that in some cases the organism was cleared from the sputum contrary to current teaching; so we reported our anecdotal experience in this letter to the Lancet.

Figure 28: Table from the paper. With permission of the Lancet.

The slow introduction of early eradication therapy, particularly in North America, is difficult to understand although perhaps one reason was that, in the early Eighties, the serious long term consequences of chronic Pseudomonas infection were only just being clearly described; most publications documenting the unfavorable outlook for patients with chronic Pseudomonas infection did not appear until the early Nineties (Kerem E et al, 1990; Henry et al, 1992; Hudson et al, 1993; Pamucku et al, 1995; Frederiksen et al, 1996; Kosorok et al, 2001). However, it is surprising that in a Cochrane Systematic Review of early Pseudomonas eradication treatment as late as 2006, the reviewers, while noting that the organism was eradicated in some patients, were still reluctant to admit that eradicating the organism had a favorable long term effect – presumably ignoring a great deal of published work attesting to the adverse effects of chronic P. aeruginosa infection mentioned above. The other lesson to take from this episode is that if a clinical course following a new intervention is so very different from the usual expected course, it is likely to be a significant effect.

1985 Conway SP, Miller MG, Ramsden C, Littlewood JM. Intensive treatment of Pseudomonas chest infection in cystic fibrosis: a comparison of tobramycin and ticarcillin, and netilmicin and ticarcillin. Acta Paediatr Scand 1985; 74:107-113. [PubMed]
Seventeen cystic fibrosis patients aged 3.1 years to 19.8 years had 30 courses of intensive intravenous antibiotic treatment for exacerbations of their chronic Pseudomonas chest infection. The combination of netilmicin and ticarcillin was compared with tobramycin and ticarcillin in an open study. A significant subjective and objective improvement occurred in all patients. Pseudomonas was cleared temporarily from the sputum in 11 out of the 30 courses of treatment (37%) but, as expected, soon returned in all. There was no significant difference between the netilmicin and tobramycin groups, nor evidence of sustained renal or ototoxicity. Intensive therapy of Pseudomonas chest infection in cystic fibrosis patients is described in detail.

The main purpose of our publishing this paper, in addition to the trial, was to document the fine details of a course of intravenous antibiotic therapy for those UK paediatricians who, like ourselves, were learning all the time how to best treat children with cystic fibrosis. At this time many children with CF in the UK were still cared for at their local hospitals by general paediatricians and had no contact with a CF centre. We hoped this detailed account of treatment would be of help in treating their CF patients.

This was one of Dr Steve Conway’s (figure 30) early papers on cystic fibrosis. He eventually became Lead Clinician in CF of the both the Paediatric and Adult CF units in Leeds and he and his colleagues made, and continue to make, major clinical and research contributions to CF care.

1986 David TJ. Potential practical and legal problems with home administration of intravenous antibiotics for children with cystic fibrosis. In: David TJ, ed. Cystic fibrosis in children. Practical and legal aspects of intravenous antibiotic administration in the home. Amsterdam: Excerpta Medica, 1986:3-14.[Meeting report]
Report of a meeting organised by Professor Tim David of Manchester (figure 32) to discuss the practical and legal details of home intravenous antibiotic treatment which was increasingly used by CF centres in the UK for the giving treatment at home by parents or patients. The legal situation surrounding such treatment was not entirely clear at the time.
(also Rucker et al, 1974 above; Winter et al, 1984 above; Gilbert et al, 1988 below; Stern RC. Intravenous treatment: where are we and how we got there? In, Doershuk CF. (Ed.) Cystic Fibrosis in the 20th Century. AM Publishing Cleveland 2001; 93-111).

1986 MacLusky I, Levison H, Gold R, McLaughlin FJ. Inhaled antibiotics in cystic fibrosis: Is there a therapeutic effect? J Pediatr 1986; 108:861-865. [PubMed]
The Toronto CF centre, under the leadership of Henry Levison, critically examined a number of the treatments used at the time confirming the value of some (physiotherapy – Riesman JJ 1988 below) and failing to confirm the benefit of others (nocturnal mist tents – Chang N et al. 1973 above).
This present study reviewed the evidence for the use of aerosol antibiotics and concluded that many studies were unsatisfactory and the results contradictory and that until additional well-controlled trials were completed their routine use was not justified because of cost, potential side effects and the propensity to select resistant organisms.

At this time in the UK there was increasing use of inhaled antibiotics following the very convincing 1981 paper on nebulised gentamicin and carbenicillin which had a quite obvious significant beneficial effect in individual patients chronically infected with Pseudomonas (Hodson et al, 1981). Also the preliminary observation that inhaled colomycin would eradicate early Pseudomonas infection (Littlewood et al, 1985 above) had already been published but was not even mentioned by MacLusky et al.
As it turned out, both the routine used of anti-Pseudomonas antibiotics to suppress chronic infection as recommended by Margaret Hodson in 1991 was later shown to be effective using tobramycin (Ramsey BW et al, 1999) as was the early use of colomycin to eradicate early infection (Littlewood et al, 1985; Valerius et al, 1991). Both proved to be effective, valuable, proven treatments and eventually widely accepted and used for people with CF on both sides of the Atlantic.

1986 Maunuksela EL, Korpela R. Double blind evaluation of lignocaine-prilocaine (EMLA) in children. Effect on the pain associated with venous cannulation. Brit J Anaesth 1986; 58:1242-1245. [PubMed]
The application of EMLA (Eutectic Mixture for Local Anaesthetic) local anaesthetic cream (lignocaine-prilocaine cream) to the skin and its occlusion for an hour before venepuncture (figures 37 & 38) was a major advance and was subsequently widely used permitting virtually painless venepuncture in the majority of children. This report was of a trial in 60 children, who did not have CF, using EMLA cream on the skin prior to venous cannulation before surgery; EMLA was clearly superior to placebo cream in preventing the pain of venepuncture.


Figures 37 & 38: Application of EMLA cream. Permitted use from the AstraZeneca website.

The introduction of this cream was a very welcome major advance both for the children with CF, who required frequent venepuncture for blood specimens and also for insertion of IV lines for antibiotic treatment; also it was welcomed by the doctors regularly inserting the IV needles – at times a very stressful business for both child, parents and the doctor!! Some children would even come to the clinic with EMLA cream already applied to both arms “just in case” someone decided on a blood test!! (Also Hallen B & Upfield A. Anaesthesiology 1982; 57:340; Clarke S & Radford M. Arch Dis Child 1986; 61:1132-1134; Halperin DL et al. Pediatrics 1989; 84:281-284 all supporting the effect of EMLA cream).
Later nitrous oxide inhalations (Entonox) were used in some units for children before venepuncture (Mills HL et al. 2001 below; Kanagasundaram SA et al, 2001 below; Williams V et al. 2006 below). These measures developed in view of the need for life long repeated venepuncture in children with CF. So EMLA was undoubtedly one of the major advances in patient care of the decade!!

1986 McDowell HP, Hart CA, Martin J. Implantable subcutaneous venous catheters. Arch Dis Child 1986; 61:1037-1038. [PubMed]
The first report of the use of the Port-A-Cath totally implantable venous access device in 12 child oncology patients from Dr John Martin’s paediatric oncology unit in Liverpool; there were fewer complications than with the other central venous catheters and long lines currently in use.
At this time increasing numbers of children with CF were having repeated courses of two weeks intravenous antibiotics; problems with venous access were an increasing and major problem. This report from Liverpool prompted us in Leeds to combine with our paediatric oncology unit colleagues at St James University Hospital, to use the Port-A-Cath both in children with CF and those with oncology problems (Essex-Cater et al, 1989 below). Eventually Port-A-Caths and other implantable venous access devices became widely used in all CF Centres for both children and adults requiring regular course of intravenous antibiotics. They were undoubtedly a major advance in treatment.

1987 Hodson ME, Roberts CM, Butland RJA, Smith MJ, Batten JC. Oral ciprofloxacin compared with conventional intravenous treatment for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis. Lancet 1987; i: 235-7. [PubMed]
Early study of the first oral anti-Pseudomonal antibiotic ciprofloxacin showing benefit. Not surprisingly the oral treatment was preferred to IV treatment by 17 of the 20 ciproxin-treated patients! An oral anti-Pseudomonal drug was a major advance in treatment – all previous systemic anti-Pseudomonal antibiotics had required either intravenous or intramuscular administration. Eventually, combined with inhaled colomycin, ciprofloxacin became the standard eradication treatment for early Pseudomonas infection (Valerius et al, 1991). Undoubtedly an oral anti-Pseudomonas drug was a major advance in treatment. We also reported the successful use of another oral anti-pseudomonal antibiotic, Enoxacin, in a 12 year old boy with cystic fibrosis (Miller MG et al. Lancet 1985; i:646).

1987 Jensen T, Pedersen SS, Garne S, Heilmann C, Hoiby N, Koch C. Colistin inhalation therapy in cystic fibrosis patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection. J Antimicrob Chemother 1987; 19:831-838. [PubMed]
One million units of inhaled colistin twice daily were compared with isotonic saline over three months in patients chronically infected with P. aeruginosa. More patients in the colistin group completed the study (18 vs.11). In terms of symptom scores, maintenance of pulmonary function (but only limited to the FVC) and inflammatory parameters, colistin was superior to placebo.
The Danish group apparently started to use nebulised colistin on their chronically infected patients following the Leeds letter to the Lancet reporting its use in eradicating early Pseudomonas infection (Littlewood et al, 1985 above). Although the results in this present study were not impressive, inhaled colistin came into widespread use in the UK and Europe to stabilise patients with chronic Pseudomonas chest infection – as it turned out, on the relatively modest published evidence in this paper! Eventually studies showed it to be less effective than inhaled tobramycin (TOBI) but both treatments were definitely associated with a significant fall in the numbers of bacteria in the sputum (Hodson ME et al. Eur Respir J 2002; 20:658-664). [PubMed] However, in this comparison the patients had received colistin previously but were TOBI (tobramycin) naive and hence were more likely to improve.
It is of interest that on relatively little published evidence that colomycin became the most widely used inhaled anti-Pseudomonal antibiotic in Europe and still remains so and remains the mainstay of effective early P. aeruginosa eradication therapy.

1987 Stead RJ, Davidson TI, Duncan FR, Hodson ME, Batten JC. Use of a totally implantable system for venous access in cystic fibrosis. Thorax 1987; 42:149-150. [PubMed]
One of the first reports of experience with this excellent device (Port-A–Cath) for adults with CF requiring frequent intravenous treatment but whose peripheral veins were becoming increasingly difficult to access (also McDowell et al, 1986 above; Essex-Cater et al, 1989 below).

1987 Pedersen SS, Jensen T, Hoiby N, Koch C, Flensborg EW. Management of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection in Danish cystic fibrosis patients. Acta Paediatr Scand 1987; 76:955-961. [PubMed]
This is one of the main publications justifying the Danish policy of 3-monthly courses of intravenous antibiotics for patients chronically infected with Pseudomonas – a policy which has never been subjected to an acceptable clinical trial and as mentioned above was initiated before the advent of inhaled antibiotics. The annual mortality rate of cystic fibrosis patients with chronic P. aeruginosa lung infection at the Danish CF-centre ranged from 10 to 20% in the years 1970-1975 - in this period the patients received anti-Pseudomonal chemotherapy only during acute exacerbations of infection. From 1976-1979 patients who acquired chronic P. aeruginosa infection were given regular and intensive anti-Pseudomonal treatment three to four times per year. The patients were followed for 6-12 patient-years; seven died and the 10-year survival rate after onset of P. aeruginosa infection was 90% (+/- 4%). The annual mortality rate is now only 1-2%. Although precipitating antibodies against P. aeruginosa increased significantly, pulmonary function did not deteriorate with duration of infection.
An unwelcome consequence was an increase in cross-infection between patients associated with more frequent hospitalisation and an increased incidence of new P. aeruginosa infection in 1976 which was steadily reduced, starting in the late Seventies, by improved hygienic measures and a new ward in the CF centre.

1988 Gilbert J, Robinson T, Littlewood JM. Home intravenous antibiotic treatment in cystic fibrosis. Arch Dis Child 1988; 63:512-517. [PubMed]
An early study of home intravenous antibiotic therapy for CF children showing that, with adequate support, home IV treatment was as effective as hospital treatment, and preferred by families and considerably less expensive. A subsequent unpublished study showed that 2 weeks of home IV antibiotics cost approximately £1.5K and the same treatment in hospital £2.5K.
In this paper we describe our experience during the first 20 months of using a system of home intravenous antibiotic treatment in which a cystic fibrosis liaison nurse (Teresa Robinson) had a central role. Thirteen patients received 40 courses of treatment. There were highly significant improvements in weight, respiratory function, and white cell count during home treatment. There was no significant difference in weight and forced expiratory volume in one second between the end of home treatment and the end of hospital treatment while forced vital capacity was better after home treatment. All patients preferred home treatment. The advantages of home visits by the CF liaison nurse during treatment were emphasised.
Subsequently numerous studies were published attesting to the feasibility, effectiveness and patient acceptability of home intravenous antibiotic therapy – an obvious major advance in treatment. However, surprisingly, a Cochrane Review in 2000, updated in 2006, considered only one small study as suitable for inclusion which showed home therapy did not harm the patients!

1989 Essex-Cater A, Gilbert J, Robinson T, Littlewood JM. Totally implantable venous access systems in paediatric practice. Arch Dis Child 1989; 64:119-123. [PubMed]
One of the first reports of successful use of totally implantable venous access devices (TIVAD) in UK children with CF; this followed a report of the successful use of these devices in children from the Liverpool paediatric oncology unit (McDowell et al, 1986 above).
This present study was a combined effort of the paediatric oncologists at St James University Hospital in Leeds (Alison Essex-Cater), who were already using the devices but had been somewhat discouraged by various serious complications including massive bleeding around the site, and our CF Research Fellow (John Gilbert) and specialist CF Nurse (Teresa Robinson).
This paper records our early experience with TIVADs and discusses the problems we encountered over the first three years. Forty seven TIVADs were inserted in 45 patients for the management of malignant disease (n = 29), haematological disorders (n = 5), and cystic fibrosis (n = 11). Subsequently TIVADs (figures 48 & 49) became widely used in CF centres as intravenous antibiotic treatment increasingly became a major component of treatment. It became apparent that a surgeon with experience in their insertion was essential to minimise complications. Meticulous management to avoid infection of the device was important – often better given by conscientious well-trained parents than by inexperienced overworked medical and nursing staff! The teaching about TIVADs and their management became the responsibility of the CF Nurse Specialist who was also closely involved in organising home intravenous antibiotic therapy.

1989 Smith AL, Ramsey BW, Hedges DL, Hack B, Williams-Warren J, Weber A, Gore EJ, Redding GJ. Safety of aerosol tobramycin administration for 3 months to patients with cystic fibrosis. Pediatr Pulmonol 1989; 7:265-271. [PubMed]
Arnold Smith had noted tobramycin in urine samples after nebulised administration hence the present study to assess safety of 12 weeks of thrice daily inhalations of 0.6gm of preservative free tobramycin. There was no detectable laboratory evidence of nephrotoxicity, neither a decrease in auditory acuity (range 250-20,000 Hz) nor vestibular dysfunction. Pulmonary function tests significantly improved during the first month in all subjects but returned to enrolment values by the end of the 12th week of administration of the tobramycin aerosol. Sputum P. aeruginosa density initially decreased and remained significantly below the enrolment value throughout. Coincident with the reduced bacterial density, a reduction in cough frequency and sputum production, as well as a weight gain was observed. However, seventy-three percent of the patients with sputum P. aeruginosa isolates susceptible to tobramycin on enrolment yielded resistant organisms during aerosol administration although 1 year later all sputum P. aeruginosa isolates were susceptible to tobramycin. The authors concluded that thrice daily aerosol tobramycin administration for three months was safe although transient emergence of tobramycin resistant P. aeruginosa may occur.

The favourable results of this study eventually led to the development, trial and introduction of TOBI – the tobramycin preparation specifically for inhalation – one of the major treatment advances of the Nineties (Ramsay BW et al. N Eng J Med 1999; 340:23-30 below).


Figure 52: Professor Arnold Smith. From National Library of Medicine website	Figure 53: Professor Bonnie Ramsey. From the National Library of Medicine website.

1990 Regelmann WE, Elliot GR, Warwick WI, Clawson CC. Reduction of sputum Pseudomonas aeruginosa density by antibiotics improves lung function in cystic fibrosis more than do bronchodilators and physiotherapy alone. Am Rev Respir Dis 1990; 141:914-921. [PubMed]
This widely quoted paper provided definite objective evidence of the beneficial effect of anti antibiotics over and above the other measures used when patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection were treated for a pulmonary exacerbation. The study has a rather complex design but is generally accepted as providing evidence of the beneficial effect of intravenous antibiotics and so it is described here in some detail.
For the first 4 days of study, all patients received bronchodilating aerosols and chest physiotherapy but no antibiotics. During this time, the patients showed significant improvement in mean FVC, FEV1, and maximal midexpiratory flow rate (FEF25-75). In 12 of 13 trials, the patients showed no significant increases in the density of Pseudomonas aeruginosa during these first four days. In these 12 trials, the patients were stratified by their initial FVC and randomized to receive either parenteral tobramycin and ticarcillin (n = 7) or placebo (n = 5), and in addition to continuing aerosol and chest physiotherapy. In the remaining trial, the patient had a significant rise in the density of P. aeruginosa during the run in and therefore was assigned to the antibiotic group.
During the next 14 days of therapy, the antibiotic group showed significantly (p < 0.01) greater reductions in log10 colony-forming units (cfu) of P. aeruginosa per gram of sputum and greater increases in FVC, FEV1, and FEF25-75 than did the placebo group. The degree of decrease in log10 cfu P. aeruginosa/g sputum correlated significantly (p < 0.001) with the degree of improvement in FVC, FEV1, and FEF25-75.

The favourable effect of antibiotics had been questioned in a previous trial from Toronto where it was stated “there was no difference in the course during the 6 to 24 months after the study period. Intravenous antibiotics are not essential in the management of all acute respiratory exacerbations of mild to moderate severity in patients with cystic fibrosis” (Gold R et al. J Pediatr 1987; 111:907-913). This was a finding quite out of keeping with the experience of most experienced CF clinicians who, fortunately, did not heed the Toronto advice.

1991 Valerius NH, Koch C, Hoiby N. Prevention of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis by early treatment. Lancet 1991; 338:725-726. [PubMed]
A randomised controlled trial from Copenhagen confirming that early P. aeruginosa infection could be eradicated in 80% of patients with CF by three weeks treatment with oral ciprofloxacin and nebulised colistin. The infection became chronic in only 2 of 14 (14%) of treated patients but in 7 of 12 (58%) of the controls. The authors comment - "Our results thus confirm and extend the preliminary report by Littlewood et al, colleagues (1995 above) who used colistin inhalations Since chronic colonisation with Ps aeruginosa is associated with increased morbidity and mortality we recommend the use of anti-Pseudomonas treatment whenever Ps aeruginosa is isolated from the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients"
This was certainly one of the most important papers of the decade and confirmed that early Pseudomonas infection could be eradicated with nebulised colomycin. It is difficult to understand why this perfectly satisfactory trial from Copenhagen, which clearly contradicted the previous widely held belief that it was impossible to eradicate Pseudomonas once cultured, was not followed by the widespread introduction of early eradication treatment for P. aeruginosa. Fortunately a few centres did introduce early eradication treatment but they were a minority. The fact that early treatment of Pseudomonas was so slow to be introduced in the UK and much of Europe (with notable exceptions) and was still not recommended in the USA over a decade after this report, was surprising and still difficult to explain.
It was predictable that these varied approaches to early treatment of Pseudomonas were reflected gradually in the markedly different prevalence of chronic Pseudomonas infection in different CF centres- this difference in the prevalence of chronic infection became increasingly obvious first in paediatric patients as time progressed (Frederiksen et al, 1996; Lee et al, 2003; Lebecque et al, 2006 all below).

Figure 19: Dr. Christian Koch in the clinic.

In 1997 I had the good fortune to interview the late Dr Christian Koch (figure 19), then the Medical Director of the Copenhagen CF centre, for a video. When I asked him at the end of the day what aspect of CF treatment he regarded as the most important, he thought for some time and then replied -<

“When I look back on what we’ve done all through the years that I’ve been involved with cystic fibrosis, I would say that the early treatment of Pseudomonas is probably the best thing that we have done for the patients. It becomes more and more clear that really what determines the long term course is whether you get Pseudomonas or not” .

It is of interest that even in 1998, reviewing the history of Pseudomonas infection in people with CF, a highly regarded US CF centre director wrote - “early administration with aerosol colistin may delay colonisation with P. aeruginosa. This intriguing observation has not been verified by prospective controlled studies” (Ramsey BW. Pediatrics 1998; Supplement: 210-213) - even though by this time early eradication of P. aeruginosa was widespread practice in Europe and already supported by many publications in addition to that of Valerius et al, 1991 from Copenhagen (Brett MM et al. Arch Dis Child 1992; 67:1066-1068; Frederiksen B et al, Pediatr Pulmonol 1997; 23:330-335; Weismann HG, et al. Pediatr Pulmonol 1998; 25:88-92; Ratjen F, et al. Lancet 2000; 358:983-984; Munck A et al. Pediatr Pulmonol 2001; 32:288-292).

1994 Weaver LT, Green MG, Nicholson K, Mills J, Heeley ME, Kuzemko JA, et al. Prognosis in cystic fibrosis treated with continuous flucloxacillin for the neonatal period. Arch Dis Child 1994; 70:84-89. [PubMed]
This study from East Anglia provided satisfactory evidence for most people that regular prophylactic flucloxacillin during the first two years in 38 screened CF infants was associated with less cough, fewer Staphylococcus aureus isolates, a lower hospital admission rates (19 versus 5) and for shorter periods (6.4 versus 2.2 days) and the need for only half the number of additional antibiotics. The study was possible as neonatal screening had been introduced into East Anglia by Anthony Heeley and his colleagues in 1981 – the first IRT screening in the UK ( Heeley et al, 1982 above).
Prophylactic anti-Staphylococcal therapy had been recommended many years ago by David Lawson, paediatrician at Carshalton, London and was routine practice in some large CF centres in the UK, from the mid-Seventies. Evidence from this trial provided a basis for the CF Trust Antibiotic Group's recommendations in 2002 (and later in 2009) for all infants with CF to receive continuous flucloxacillin for the first 2 years; in fact the first 3 years was recommended in 2009.
Arguments continued for the next decade as to whether this treatment increased the likelihood of Pseudomonas infection – this was not the case in centres where early eradication of Pseudomonas had been practised since the early Eighties but probably was the case in the USA where early eradication of Pseudomonas was not routine practice. As an alternative to long term flucloxacillin, the levels of chronic S. aureus infection can also be reduced by early active treatment whenever the organism was cultured as shown in Copenhagen by Szaff and Hoiby (Szaff & Hoiby, 1981 above). It is important to note that in Copenhagen respiratory cultures are performed every month so S. aureus is detected at an early stage when it can be eradicated; as with P. aeruginosa, once allowed to become chronic eradication is difficult if not impossible.
The very high prevalence of chronic S. aureus infection reported in recent CF Registry figures (in up to 50% of patients) and from a number of countries, including the UK, is surprising considering that S. aureus was the main cause of death in the early years and is still associated with a definite inflammatory response as shown in bronchoscopic studies of young CF infants (Armstrong et al, 1995 below).

Figure 30.1: Professor Lawrence Weaver.

Professor Lawrence Weaver (figure 30.1) is Professor of Child Health in Glasgow and paediatrician at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Glasgow. The present research, on the neonatal screened infants from East Anglia, was carried out when he was working at the MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit in Cambridge.

1997 Conway SP, Pond MN, Watson A, Etherington C, Robey HL, Goldman MH. Intravenous colistin sulphomethate in acute respiratory exacerbations in adult patients with cystic fibrosis. Thorax 1997; 52:987-993. [PubMed]
Intravenous colistin was shown to be an effective safe treatment for P. aeruginosa associated pulmonary exacerbations in patients with cystic fibrosis. Assessment of the individual effect of each treatment regimen suggests a greater efficacy when colistin is combined with a second antibiotic to which the Pseudomonas shows in vitro sensitivity. It was advised that renal function should be monitored.
Intravenous colomycin was first used by Robert Stern who gives an interesting account of his decision to use of the intravenous route, instead of the painful intramuscular route, in a wasted girl who already had an intravenous drip running for hydration purposes. Colomycin was the only parenteral antibiotic in the early Sixties. Later an intravenous preparation became available and but was soon replaced by intravenous gentamicin and then carbenicillin and piperacillin became available. Stern describes the early developments including the heparin lock in the early Seventies, the gradual involvement of the patients with CF in managing their own IV therapy first in hospital and eventually at home (Stern RC. Intravenous treatment: where we are and how we got there. In: Doershuk CF, editor. Cystic Fibrosis in the Twentieth Century. Cleveland: AM Publishing, Ltd, 2001:93-111).

1997 Frederiksen B, Koch C, Hoiby N. Antibiotic treatment at time of initial colonisation with Pseudomonas aeruginosa postpones chronic infection and prevents deterioration of pulmonary function in patients with cystic fibrosis. Pediatr Pulmonol 1997; 23:330-335. [PubMed]
Follow up of the important Valerius et al, 1991 study (above) showing successful eradication of early infection with P. aeruginosa with nebulised colistin and oral ciprofloxacin. Three months colistin and ciprofloxacin gave longer freedom from recurrence of infection than did three weeks treatment.
This study was criticised as historic controls were used. However, it was already clear that the treatment prevented chronic P. aeruginosa infection (Littlewood et al, 1985; Valerius et al, 1991 above) and most clinicians in Europe would have regarded it as unethical to involve a placebo group at this stage; vigorous early eradication treatment was already routine practice in many European CF clinics. But it is difficult to understand how three months treatment increases the time to further Pseudomonas infection as the next episode of infection is usually, but not always, with a different genotype presumably acquired from the environment (Munck A et al. Pediatr Pulmonol 2001; 32:288-292). However, also using genotyping, it was later shown that a minority of Pseudomonas strains were suppressed but not completely eradicated – so presumably three months treatment would make this less likely to happen.

The great delay in the general introduction of early eradication therapy for Pseudomonas to reduce the prevalence of chronic infection, particularly in North America, was difficult to understand when the results of the earlier Copenhagen study were so impressive (Valerius et al, 1991 above).
Surprisingly, a later Cochrane Systematic review on early eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, almost a decade later in 2006, could only conclude that “there is some evidence that antibiotic treatment of early P. aeruginosa results in short term eradication but it remains uncertain whether there is clinical benefit to people with cystic fibrosis” – a conclusion most experienced clinicians, including Neils Hoiby would fiercely question (as he and I did in critical letters to the Cochrane reviewers!). The views of the late Christian Koch summarise the Danish experience and of most CF clinicians as to the importance of avoiding chronic Pseudomonas infection (these are quoted in the comments on Valerius et al, 1991 above).

1997 Everard ML, Sly P, Brenan S, Ryan G. Macrolides antibiotics in diffuse panbronchiolitis and in cystic fibrosis. Eur Respir J 1997; 10:2926. [PubMed]
Mark Everard (figure 41) confirmed with me that this was the first report from Sheffield UK and Perth Western Australia showing the anti-inflammatory effect of macrolides in people with cystic fibrosis. Four of six patients with CF had significant reduction in IL-8 sputum levels after one month treatment with low dose (200 mg tds) oral erythromycin. He believes the first report of the use of macrolides in CF was in a Japanese publication by Nakanishi et al in 1995 – "A 16-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital because of coughing, sputum, and exertional dyspnoea. Seven months after birth cystic fibrosis had been diagnosed. The chest roentgenogram on admission showed diffuse reticulonodular shadows and overinflation. Pulmonary function tests revealed obstructive and restrictive impairment. Erythromycin and Lomefloxacin were administered by mouth, and aminoglycosides were administered by inhalation. His symptoms were alleviated, and he is now an outpatient. In Japan, cystic fibrosis is rare, and this patient is extremely rare because he has grown up to be a 16-year-old. In this case, low-dose and long-term erythromycin administration was very effective". (Nakanishi N, Ueda N, Kitade M, Moritaka T. A case of cystic fibrosis in a Japanese student. Jpn J Thoracic Dis 1995; 33:771-774.) [PubMed]

The beneficial effect of 600 mg/day of erythromycin for 1 to 12 months in chronic panbronchiolitis in Japanese patients had been reported previously (Nagai H et al. Respiration 1991; 58:145-9). [PubMed] The effect appeared to be independent of the presence of chronic Pseudomonas infection and an anti-inflammatory action was suggested (Fujii T et al. Thorax 1995; 50:1246-52; Hoiby N. Thorax 1994; 49:531-532; Kudoh S et al. Jpn J Thorac Dis 1987; 25:632-42; Kudoh S. et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1998; 157:1829-32 below; Kudoh et al, 1998 below).

These were important developments eventually leading to a number of large clinical trials and the widespread use of azithromycin in people with CF – undoubtedly one of the major clinical treatment advances of the Nineties and new Millennium (Equi et al, 2002 below; Saiman et al, 2003 both below). By 2005 nearly 54% of all the patients on the CF Foundation Registry were taking azithromycin.

1998 Kudoh S. Azuma A. Yamamoto M. Izumi T. Ando M. Improvement of survival in patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis treated with low-dose erythromycin. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1998; 157:1829-32. [PubMed]
Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways with a high mortality despite treatment with a combination of antibiotics and the use of supportive therapy. Low-dose erythromycin therapy (EM) (400 to 600 mg/d) improved the survival and most patients in Japan have been treated with this regimen since 1984. The authors compared the survival rates of 498 patients with DPB after dividing them into three groups (Group a: 1970-1979, Group b: 1980-1984, Group c: 1985-1990). The survival rate of Group c was significantly higher than that of Groups a (p < 0.0001) and b (p < 0. 0001). In Group c (1985-1990), eight of 87 patients died; five (21%) died in the EM non-treated subgroup (n = 24), and three (5%) died in the EM-treated subgroup (n = 63). So treatment with erythromycin was associated with a significant improvement in the survival of patients with DPB which was more significant in the older than in the younger patients.
These findings were the basis for the gradual evaluation of macrolide therapy in people with cystic fibrosis. The first report of the favourable effect of erythromycin in DPD was Kudoh S, et al. Clinical effects of low-dose long-term erythromycin chemotherapy on diffuse panbronchiolitis. Jpn J Thorac Dis 1987; 25:632-642. Mark Everard et al, (1997 above) was the first in the UK to report an effect on sputum inflammatory markers in cystic fibrosis.

1999 Ramsey BW, Pepe MS, Quan JM, Otto KL, Montgomery AB, Williams-Warren J, Vasiljev-K M, Borowitz D, Bowman CM, Marshall BC, Marshall S, Smith AL.. Intermittent administration of inhaled tobramycin in patients with cystic fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis Inhaled Tobramycin Study Group. N Engl J Med 1999; 340:23-30. [PubMed]
One of the most important clinical trials of the decade showing a significant benefit of inhaled preservative free tobramycin (TOBI) given during alternate four week cycles for 24 weeks to patients chronically infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Treated patients had an average increase of FEV1 of 10% predicted at 20 weeks where as those on placebo had a 2% decline; also the treated patients had 23% fewer hospital admissions.
The introduction of TOBI, supported by this excellent clinical trial, was one of the major clinical advances of the decade and the culmination of work started in the late Eighties by Arnold Smith and others (Smith AL et al. 1989 above). By 2005 nearly 60% of people with CF in the US CFF Registry were receiving nebulised TOBI.
Although the cost (£10K per annum in the UK) has restricted the use of the TOBI preparation in the UK, inhaled anti-Pseudomonal antibiotics (colistin, tobramycin for injection and gentamicin) have been widely used in the UK for CF patients with chronic Pseudomonas infection since Margaret Hodson’s important 1981 paper (Hodson et al, 1981 above).

Figure 47: Dr Bruce Montgomery. 2008.

Dr Bruce Montgomery (Figure 47) now Senior Vice President and head of Respiratory Therapeutics at Gilead Sciences,, was closely involved with the development and trials of this preparation and has been involved subsequently with other new treatments including, more recently, nebulised aztreonam lysine for inhalation.

2000 Conway SP, Etherington C, Munday J, Goldman MH, Strong JJ, Wootton M. Safety and tolerability of bolus intravenous colistin in acute respiratory exacerbations in adults with cystic fibrosis. Ann Pharmacother 2000; 34:1238-1242. [PubMed]
This study confirmed that an intravenous bolus of 2 mega-units of colistin in 10 ml of normal saline was safe and tolerated by patients with indwelling venous access systems.

An important practically useful paper as intravenous colistin was increasingly used as bacterial resistance to other antibiotics became more common; also previously IV colistin had been considered to be associated with unacceptable side effects. Previously it had been recommended that colistin should be given as a slow infusion when given through peripheral veins to avoid thrombophlebitis.

2000 Doring G, Conway SP, Heijerman HGH, Hodson ME, Hoiby N, Smyth A, Touw DJ, for the Consensus Committee. Antibiotic therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: a European Consensus. Eur Respir J 2000; 16:749-767.[PubMed]
This document was the result of one of the valuable consensus meetings organised at Artimino in northern Italy by Prof. Gerd Döring and the European CF Society of which he was President. In 2006 Gerd Döring later became editor of the Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. In this publication there were consensus answers to 24 important questions based on current evidence by a panel of 34 European CF experts. Questions addressed and answered by the group were: The diagnosis of P. aeruginosa lung colonization in CF; the impact of P. aeruginosa on the clinical state of CF patients; the assessment of P. aeruginosa susceptibility against antibiotics and the importance of these results for the clinician; the use of monotherapy versus combination therapy; the development of microbial resistance; the achievement of optimal airway concentrations; the effects of subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics on P. aeruginosa. Statements on the pharmacokinetics of antibiotics in CF patients; recommendations for doses and dosing intervals and length of treatment regimens and toxic side effects due to repeated antibiotic therapy was addressed. The expert panel answered further questions on the use of fluoroquinolones in children with CF, on the administration of nebulized antibiotics and whether prevention of P. aeruginosa lung colonization is possible in CF using antibiotic therapy. Problems of antibiotic therapy at home and in the hospital were addressed, a consensus statement on regular maintenance treatment, or treatment on demand, was given and different routes of administration of antibiotics were recommended for different clinical situations. Finally, the factors which determine the choice of the antibiotic, the dosage, and the duration of the treatment in cystic fibrosis patients were addressed and the design of future antibiotic studies in the context of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients was recommended.
The document provides a valuable summary of current antibiotic treatment used for CF in Europe at the time and is recommended reading for all concerned with treating people with CF. Most of the important topical areas of interest are highlighted in the report. Consensus documents are particularly important in an area where so many aspects of treatment are not covered by acceptable randomised controlled trials. This has resulted in important therapeutic interventions being ignored by clinicians or even dismissed as lacking high quality evidence by the authors of Cochrane Reviews.

The UK CF Trust produced a consensus document on antibiotics in 2002 (Antibiotic Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis. 2002. Full text available on the CF Trust website www.cftrust.org.uk). This has been updated and extensively revised in 2009 and this third edition is also now available on the CF Trust website.

2000 Kariyawasam HH, Pepper JR, Hodson ME, Geddes DM. Experience of totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs) in adults with cystic fibrosis over a 13-year period. Respir Med 2000; 94:1161-1165. [PubMed]
A report ofextensive experience of totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs) in patients with CF over a 13-year period. The patients were divided into those who had the device inserted at the Royal Brompton Hospital (RBH), London and those who had the device inserted elsewhere; however all the devices were cared for at the RBH. A total of 115 devices in 74 patients were reviewed. The median duration of function of 109 devices was 1429 days (range 2-3989) or 3.9 years, with a total exposure of 91,188 days or 249.8 years. Forty patients had complications in 62 devices. The incidence of complications was 34.5% at the devices inserted at RBH and 73.7% for those inserted elsewhere (P<0.001). Of the 115 devices, mechanical complications occurred in 42 (36%), infectious complications occurred in 16 (14%) and symptomatic venous thrombosis occurred in four (3.5%).

One of the early reports on TIVADs in people with CF came from the adult CF unit at the Brompton Hospital in 1987 (Stead RJ et al. Thorax 1987; 42:149-150. 3433239.). The authors of the present paper conclude that TIVADs provide effective and long-term intravenous access and have fewer complications if they are inserted and cared for at a CF centre with special expertise in their insertion and management. This is general experience at other large centres (Aitken ML. Tonelli MR. Chest 2000; 118:1598-1602. [PubMed]).

2000 Rappaz I, Decosterd LA, Bille J, Pilet M, Belaz N, Roulet M. Continuous infusion of ceftazidime with a portable pump is as effective as thrice-a-day bolus in cystic fibrosis children. Eur J Pediatr 2000; 159:919-925. [PubMed]
Continuous intravenous infusion of ceftazidime was just as effective as thrice daily IV administration and the method is preferred by the children.

The method of constant infusion for beta lactam antibiotics had been suggested sporadically over the past 20 years by Prof. Tim David and others (Vinks AA et al. J Antimicrob Chemother 1997; 40:125-133. [PubMed]) but never seemed to become routine in CF centres. Probably this was, in part, related to the cost of the portable infusion pumps required and also initially their reliability was a problem, yet other authors found the method acceptable and as effective as intermittent dosing (Bosso JA, et al. Pharmacotherapy 1999; 19:620-626.). [PubMed]
However, it is the logical way to administer ceftazidime where steady blood levels should be maintained rather than trying to achieve peak serum levels as is ideal with aminoglycosides. A recent review of experience with the method in severe pneumonia in non-CF patients concluded that in this small, selected population of adult patients with ventilator associated pneumonia caused by gram-negative bacteria who were treated in a non-randomized, open-label manner, ceftazidime administered by continuous infusion had greater clinical efficacy than ceftazidime administered by intermittent infusion” (Lorente L. Clin Ther 2007; 29:2433-2439 ). [PubMed]>

In 2008 an important short report using continuous IV ceftazidime and daily IV aminoglycoside eradicated Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a 3 month old CF infant when outpatient eradication treatment had failed (Hayes D Jr et al. Novel approach to the eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an infant with CF after outpatient treatment failure. Pediatr Pulmonol 2008; 43: 511-513. [PubMed]). This was a useful report as in most eradication schemes for Pseudomonas there were still 10-20% where initial eradication therapy failed. To use both these antibiotics in their optimal manner would possibly increase the chances of eradication which, if achieved, would be well worth all the considerable effort and inconvenience to the patient and family.

2000 Littlewood JM, Koch C, Lambert PA, Hoiby N, Elborn JS, Conway SP, Dinwiddie R, Duncan-Skingle F. A ten year review of colomycin. Respir Med 2000; 94:632-640. [PubMed]
A review of colomycin use in CF up to that time. In the concluding section it was noted that colomycin had re-emerged as the first choice antibiotic treatment for nebulised treatment of both early (Littlewood et al. 1985 above; Valerius et al. 1991 above) and chronic P. aeruginosa infection (Jensen et al, 1989 above) in people with CF – certainly in Europe if not N. America where tobramycin was preferred. Colomycin was also a valuable addition to the range of IV antibiotics used for P. aeruginosa when the organism becomes resistant to the more frequently use drugs tobramycin and ceftazidime. It seemed likely to the authors of this review that the antibiotic would continue to have an important role in the treatment of people with CF during the next decade - this proved to be the case.

2000 Elborn JS, Prescott RJ, Stack BH, Goodchild MC, Bates J, Pantin C. Ali N, Shale DJ, Crane M. Elective versus symptomatic antibiotic treatment in cystic fibrosis patients with chronic Pseudomonas infection of the lungs. Thorax 2000; 55:355-358. [PubMed]
A clinical report from Copenhagen had suggested that regular 3-monthly courses of IV antibiotics increased survival of patients with CF who were chronically infected with Pseudomonas species (Szaff et al. 1983 above). In this present UK multicentre study 60 patients with CF, chronically infected with P. aeruginosa, were randomised to the two treatment arms (elective or symptomatic) and followed clinically at annual reviews. Unfortunately patients in the symptomatic group (IV only if required for clinical condition) received a mean of three antibiotic treatments each year – very similar to those in the elective group who received four antibiotic treatments during each year of the study. This study failed to demonstrate an advantage of a policy of elective 3-monthly antibiotic treatment over symptomatic treatment in patients with CF chronically infected with Pseudomonas species.

Unfortunately not an entirely satisfactory study as B.cepacia deaths complicated the results; also the symptomatic” group received almost as many courses of IV antibiotics as the treatment group - no less than 3 courses of IV antibiotic in the year compared with 4 in the elective group. So the question is still not finally answered as to whether regular 3-monthly IV treatment, irrespective of clinical state, should be given to patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection.
An important difference to note between the two studies is the patients were receiving regular nebulised antibiotics in this UK study but these were not used by chronically infected patients at the time of the original Danish report (Szaff et al. 1983 above).
Nowadays many UK CF centres have a very low threshold for treating with IV antibiotics and many patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection are actually receiving almost 3-monthly courses of IV antibiotics, being treated if they show even minimal signs of deterioration.
It is now, and quite correctly, a matter of clinical judgement in most CF centres - if the chronically infected patient shows slow deterioration of respiratory function they receive 3 monthly IV antibiotics, if they are absolutely stable the intervals between the courses are increased. A few remain totally stable with inhaled antibiotics, which all chronically infected patients should be receiving, and may go for many years without IV antibiotics.


Fig. 17: Professor Stuart Elborn

Professor Stuart Elborn (figure 17) is Director of the Adult CF Centre in Belfast also Professor of Respiratory Medicine in Queens University Belfast. He is Chairman of the CF Trust's Research Advisory Committee and President of the European CF Society. He is one of Europe's leading authorities on cystic fibrosis.

2000 Kariyawasam HH, Pepper JR, Hodson ME, Geddes DM. Experience of totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs) in adults with cystic fibrosis over a 13-year period. Respir Med 2000; 94:1161-1165. [PubMed]
A report of extensive experience of totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs) in patients with CF over a 13-year period. The patients were divided into those who had the device inserted at the Royal Brompton Hospital (RBH), London and those who had the device inserted elsewhere; however all the devices were cared for at the RBH. A total of 115 devices in 74 patients were reviewed. The median duration of function of 109 devices was 1429 days (range 2-3989) or 3.9 years, with a total exposure of 91,188 days or 249.8 years. Forty patients had complications in 62 devices. The incidence of complications was 34.5% at the devices inserted at RBH and 73.7% for those inserted elsewhere (P<0.001). Of the 115 devices, mechanical complications occurred in 42 (36%), infectious complications occurred in 16 (14%) and symptomatic venous thrombosis occurred in four (3.5%).

2001 Kanagasundaram SA, Lane LJ, Cavalletto BP, Keneally JP, Cooper MG. Efficacy and safety of nitrous oxide in alleviating pain and anxiety during painful procedures. Arch Dis Child 2001; 84:492-495. [PubMed]
The repeated need for venous access is a major problem for a significant proportion of children with CF – in some amounting to severe needle phobia. Another simple method of improving their quality of life was to use inhaled nitrous oxide before venepuncture. The technique was already used successfully in Belfast (Mills et al. 2001 below) and subsequently elsewhere for children with CF undergoing painful procedures (Williams V et al. Paediatr Nurse; 2006:18:31-33)).

This seemed an excellent form of treatment for children having distressing procedures and is obviously used successfully in a number of CF centres by experienced clinicians (Mills & Redmond, 2001 below). The method is now used in many CF Centres in the UK.

2001 Mills HL, Redmond AOB. Cystic fibrosis patients' view of self administered nitrous oxide (Entonox) during insertion of epicutaneo-cava catheters (long lines). 24th ECFS Conference Vienna 2001. Poster 291.
The distress of some children at even the thought of an intravenous injection or insertion of a venous catheter, when they have had many such insertions before, has to be seen to be believed. It is distressing not only for the unfortunate patient and the parents but also for the unfortunate doctor inserting the needle! The use of nitrous oxide is a great idea and appears very acceptable to most people. (The method was first published by Kanagasundaram et al, 2001 above).

2001 Mulheran M, Degg C, Burr S, Morgan DW, Stableforth DE. Occurrence and risk of cochleotoxicity in cystic fibrosis patients receiving repeated high-dose aminoglycoside therapy. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2001; 45:2502-9. [PubMed]
The primary aim of this retrospective study was to establish the incidence and severity of auditory deficit in 70 people with CF. Twelve (17%) displayed hearing loss considered to be caused by repeated exposure to aminoglycosides. There was a nonlinear relationship between the courses of aminoglycoside therapy received and the incidence of hearing loss. The severity of the loss did not appear to be related to the number of courses received. Assuming the risk of loss to be independent for each course, preliminary estimates of per course risk of hearing loss were less than 2%.

Upon comparison with previous clinical studies and experimental work, these findings suggest that the incidence of cochleotoxicity in CF patients is considerably lower than would be expected, even suggesting that the CF condition may confer some protection against aminoglycoside cochleotoxicity. Subsequently increased susceptibility to amingycoside toxicity has been related to the possession of a particular gene the mitochondrial 12S rRNA A1555G mutation is one of the important causes of aminoglycoside-induced and nonsyndromic hearing loss (Qian Y, Guan MX. Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy 2009; 53:4612-4618. [PubMed]; Bitner-Glindzicz Met al. Prevalence of mitochondrial 1555A->G mutation in European children. N Engl J Med 2009; 360:640-642. [PubMed]

2001 Ratjen F, Doring G, Nikolaizik WH. Effect of inhaled tobramycin on early Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonisation in patients with cystic fibrosis. Lancet 2001; 358:983-984. [PubMed]
One of the early studies (the first using tobramycin) confirming that early nebulised antibiotic treatment of airway colonisation with Pseudomonas aeruginosa could delay onset of chronic lung infection in patients with cystic fibrosis. There was successful eradication of the organism in 14 of 15 patients with cystic fibrosis who had been colonised by P. aeruginosa. Patients inhaled 80 mg tobramycin twice daily for 12 months. Eradication was confirmed by sequential respiratory cultures and serum antibody titres that were negative for P. aeruginosa. The antibiotic therapy regimen maintained pulmonary function at high levels (Further support for Littlewood et al, 1985 [PubMed] above and Valerius et al, 1991above) [PubMed].

It is of interest that a subsequent trial showed that 80 mg of nebulised injectable tobramycin twice daily on a regular basis showed similar benefit to alternate monthly cycles of 300 mg twice daily of tobramycin for inhalation (Nikolaizik WH et al. Can Respir J 2008; 15:259-262 [PubMed]


Fig. 24: Professor Felix Ratjen

Professor Felix Ratjen (figure 24) was head of the CF Centre in Essen Germany until 2005 when he moved to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto as Head of Respiratory Medicine to hold the Sellers Chair for Cystic Fibrosis. He is involved in many areas of pediatric respiratory medicine but particularly in cystic fibrosis. Although a scientific researcher into areas of inflammation and respiratory function he is heavily involved in patient care and the introduction of new treatments

2001 Rosenfeld M, Gibson R, McNamara S, Emerson J, McCoyd KS, Shell R, Borowitz D, Konstan MW, Retsch-Bogart G, Wilmott RW, Burns JL, Vicini P, Montgomery AB, Ramsey B. Serum and lower respiratory tract drug concentrations after tobramycin inhalation in young children with cystic fibrosis. J Pediatr 2001; 139:572-577. [PubMed]
First of two important papers from Rosenfield et al. to assess the serum and lower respiratory tract tobramycin concentrations produced by a single dose of tobramycin for inhalation (TOBI) in patients with CF aged 6 months to 6 years. A 180-mg dose of inhaled tobramycin produced a mean peak serum level of 0.5 microg/ml; a 300-mg dose produced a mean peak serum level of 0.6 microg/ml both well below the accepted maximum trough concentration with parenteral dosing (2 microg/ml). The target epithelial lining fluid level in the lung was 20 microg/ml - 10-fold greater than the minimal inhibitory concentration for most Pseudomonas isolates. The mean epithelial fluid level was 90 microg/ml.

So in patients with CF, aged 6 months to 6 years, even a single 300-mg dose of inhaled tobramycin (TOBI) appeared to produce safe serum concentrations and high drug concentrations in the bactericidal range in the lower respiratory tract. Although it is not known if these serum levels, sustained over many years, are without side effects.

2001 Nixon GM, Armstrong DS, Carzino R, Carlin JB, Olinsky A, Robertson CF, Grimwood K. Clinical outcome after early Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis. J Pediatr 2001; 138:699-704. [PubMed]
A prospective, observational cohort study of 56 children from Melbourne. All were identified as having CF by newborn screening during 1990-92 and the study involved each child having an annual bronchial lavage during the first 2 to 3 years of life. Clinical outcome was determined at 7 years of age. P. aeruginosa infection was diagnosed in 24 (43%) children. Four children died before 7 years of age, all of whom had been infected with a multi-resistant, mucoid strain of P. aeruginosa (Armstrong et al, 2002 below). In the survivors, P. aeruginosa infection was associated with significantly increased morbidity as measured by lower National Institutes of Health scores, greater variability in lung function, increased time in the hospital, and higher rates of rhDNase (Pulmozyme) therapy (P <.01)

Despite neonatal CF screening, the acquisition of P. aeruginosa was common by 7 years of age in this CF birth cohort and was associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The high incidence of P. aeruginosa infection here is presumably a reflection of the fact the children were born between 1990 and 1992 when early eradication therapy was not routine practice outside certain European CF centres. The high prevalence (43%) of chronic Pseudomonas infection at 7 years contrasts with the much lower prevalence (of around 4%) at centres where early eradication has been the policy for some years. This paper should be read in conjunction with the following paper (Armstrong et al, 2002 below) where the unusual situation at the time is described of a particularly virulent strain of Pseudomonas in the clinic that caused the death of 4 children.

2002 Stutman HR, Lieberman JM, Nussbaum E, Marks MI. Antibiotic prophylaxis in infants and young children with cystic fibrosis: a randomised controlled trial. J Pediatr 2002; 140:299-305. [PubMed]
A 7-year, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of continuous anti staphylococcal therapy. Otherwise healthy children <2 years of age with CF were randomly assigned to be treated with daily cephalexin (80-100 mg/kg/day) or placebo. 119 of 209 children enrolled and completed a 5- to 7-year course of therapy. Respiratory cultures from children treated with cephalexin were significantly less likely to be positive for S. aureus (6.0% vs. 30.4%) They were, however, more likely to be positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (25.6% vs. 13.5%). These differences became apparent in the first year after enrolment and persisted over the duration of the study. In contrast to these microbiologic differences, there were no differences in clinical outcome measures. The authors concluded that although long-term prophylaxis with cephalexin successfully delayed the acquisition of S. aureus, it enhanced colonization with P. aeruginosa and did not lead to clinically significant improvement in major health outcomes. Hence the findings did not support routine anti staphylococcal prophylaxis in otherwise healthy infants and young children with cystic fibrosis.

The plan of this study was reported at the 1992 N American CF Conference by Dr Stutman but the results not published until 2002. This study with cephalexin,(a broader spectrum antibiotic than flucloxacillin) does not provide useful information about the use of long term flucloxacillin (currently recommended for the first 3 years for all CF infants by the UK CF Trust Antibiotic Working group 2009). Also during the study early eradication treatment of P. aeruginosa was not practiced in the USA. In UK centres where both long term flucloxacillin AND early P. aeruginosa eradication is routine the prevalence of both chronic S. aureus and P. aeruginosa is low (Lee et al, 2004).
It seems that if an organism is eradicated from the airways of a person with CF another potential pathogen from the environment colonizes and, if not treated, infects the airway. For example when S. aureus is treated, P aeruginosa appears (a fact noted since the early days of CF treatment); when P. aeruginosa is eradicated and prevented other environmental organisms appear particularly Aspergillus fumigatus and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (noted both in the Copenhagen and Leeds CF centres). But this is not a good reason to fail to eradicate potential pathogens as they appear which is the policy in many European and N American CF centres, evidenced by the high prevelance of chronic S. aureus infection.
Finally, it should be noted that it is not essential to give long term flucloxacillin to achieve a very low prevalence of S aureus infection, an alternative is to culture regularly (every clinic attendance and also when unwell) as is the policy in some European centres and treat vigorously whenever S. aureus appears (Szaff and Hoiby,1981 above - see discussion after this entry for more on anti-Staphylococcal prophylaxis).

2002 Heinzl B. Eber E. Oberwaldner B. Haas G. Zach MS. Effects of inhaled gentamicin prophylaxis on acquisition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in children with cystic fibrosis: a pilot study. Pediatr Pulmonol 2002; 33:32-37. [PubMed]
Inhaled antibiotics are an established treatment for chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) infection in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, inhaled antibiotics might also have prophylactic potential to delay acquisition of PA in early stages of the disease. From 1986-1999, all CF patients at this center who experienced defined risk situations for acquisition of PA (28 patients) received inhaled gentamicin (80 mg BID for those < 12 months; 120 mg BID for those > 12 months) for a minimum of 3 years. Twelve patients had repeated risk situations and continued this prophylaxis without interruption during the entire study period (group 1). In the remaining 16 patients, inhaled antibiotics were discontinued at various times for a variety of reasons (group 2). None of the patients in group 1, but 7 in group 2, became chronically infected with PA (P = 0.01). Lung function and chest X-ray scores were significantly worse in those 7 infected patients, when compared to the non infected ones in both groups. This suggests that long-term-prophylaxis with inhaled gentamicin can effectively delay acquisition of PA and decrease disease progression in children with CF.

This study from Austria appeared to start the year after the first report of eradication of early P. aeruginosa in 1985. The treatment appeared to be very effective in avoiding chronic infection. However, a subsequent study of urinary NAG levels suggested some renal involvement so the gentamicin was stopped (Ring E et al. Arch Dis Child 1998; 78:540-543). [PubMed]

2003 Gibson RL, Emerson J, McNamara S, Burns LL, Rosenfield M, Yunker A, Hamblett N., Accurso F, Dovey M, Hiatt P, Konstan MW, Moss R, Retsch-Bogart G, Wagener J Waltz D, Wilmott R, Zeitlin PL, Ramsey B. Significant microbiological effect of inhaled tobramycin in young children with cystic fibrosis. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2003; 167:841-849. [PubMed]
This trial of 300 mg tobramycin for inhalation twice daily (which seems to be a huge dose for young children compared to the effective 80 mg doses of inhaled tobramycin in previous studies!) in 21 children less than 6 years for early Pseudomonas infection was stopped as there was a significant microbiological effect in all the treated patients. There was no P. aeruginosa present in the 8 tobramycin-treated children but only 1 of 13 in the placebo group had cleared. The authors concluded that 28 days of tobramycin solution for inhalation, 300 mg twice daily, is safe and effective for significant reduction of lower airway Pseudomonas density in young children with CF”.

This study seemed to eventually convince many clinicians that early treatment of PA was effective in eradicating the organism first suggested in a letter from Leeds in 1985 nearly 20 years earlier (Littlewood et al, 1985) and later confirmed in Copenhagen in 1991 in a clinical trial (Valerius et al, 1991). The delay of over a decade in adopting early eradication treatment of PA by many N. American CF centres has been difficult to understand in view of the mass of evidence supporting the obvious deleterious effect of chronic PA infection on patients' ultimate health and survival.


Fig. 30: Dr Ron Gibson

Dr Gibson is Director of the CF Clinical Centre at Seattle Children's Hospital and extensively involved in CF clinical care and research.

2004 Doring G, Hoiby N, Consensus Study Group. Early intervention and prevention of lung disease in cystic fibrosis: a European consensus. J Cystic Fibrosis 2004; 3:67-91. [PubMed]
One of a number of valuable Artimino conference consensus reports organised by Gerd Doring, the then President of the ECFS. Delegates representing most countries in Europe were invited to a meeting in Artimino to consider a particular area of interest and produce a consensus report. This one, on early intervention, was particularly relevant in view of the increasing introduction of neonatal CF screening. The full text is available on the European CF Society website (www.ecfsoc.org).

2004 Munck A. Malbezin S. Bloch J. Gerardin M. Lebourgeois M. Derelle J. Bremont F. Sermet I. Munck MR. Navarro J. Follow-up of 452 totally implantable vascular devices in cystic fibrosis patients. Eur Respir J 2004; 23:430-434. [PubMed]
This retrospective study involved 36 CF centres. TIVADs (n = 452) were implanted in 315 patients. The mean functional time per device was 32 +/- 25 months. Long-term complications occurred with 188 devices (42%); they consisted mainly of occlusion (21%, requiring removal in 77%), infection (9.3%, requiring removal in 851%; septicaemia in 7.3%; rate 0.3 per 1,000 days, Candida in 66%), and vascular thrombosis (4.7%, removal in 58%). Multivariate survival analysis showed that removal, whatever the reason, was associated with polyurethane (versus silicone) and routine use of the device for blood sampling (versus never). No risk factors, including heparin lock, were identified for septicaemia or for removal for obstruction. Totally implantable venous access devices appear to be safe and reliable for long-term intermittent venous access. Although retrospective, this study suggests that the characteristics of the material and blood sampling are risk factors for removal.

2004 Thornton J. Elliott R. Tully MP. Dodd M. Webb AK. Long term clinical outcome of home and hospital intravenous antibiotic treatment in adults with cystic fibrosis. Thorax 2004; 59:242-246. [PubMed]
A total of 116 patients received 454 courses of intravenous antibiotics. At the end of 1 year there had been a mean percentage decline in FEV(1) compared with the baseline "average" for patients treated mostly at home but an improvement in patients treated mostly in hospital. For all patients there was a mean percentage decline in FEV(1) from the baseline "best" value. For each course of treatment the mean percentage improvements in FEV(1) at the end of the course from the start of the course were significantly higher for patients treated in hospital than for those treated at home. Clinical outcome, as defined by spirometric parameters and body weight, was better after a course of treatment in hospital than after home treatment, and this benefit was maintained over 1 year of treatment. The results suggest that patients treated at home need closer supervision.

This study from a large UK adult CF centre addresses the home or hospital problem. It is likely that clinicians will consider each patient's individual case and capabilities in making these decisions. However the authors do correctly stress the importance of adequate supervision at home.

2005 Thornton J. Elliott RA. Tully MP. Dodd M. Webb AK. Clinical and economic choices in the treatment of respiratory infections in cystic fibrosis: comparing hospital and home care. J Cyst Fibros 2005; 4:239-247. [PubMed]
A cost-effectiveness evaluation comparing home-based and hospital-based treatment with intravenous antibiotics for respiratory exacerbations in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) has not been previously undertaken. METHODS: The study was conducted in a UK adult CF centre from a health service perspective. Clinical outcome and resource use data were obtained from a retrospective one-year study and combined with unit cost data in an incremental economic analysis. The primary outcome measure was percentage change in FEV(1); "effectiveness" was defined as maintenance of baseline average FEV(1) over the one-year study period. RESULTS: 116 patients received 454 courses of intravenous antibiotics. At the end of 1 year, there had been a mean percentage decline in FEV(1) compared with baseline average for home-treated patients but an improvement for hospital-treated patients (Tukey's HSD mean difference 10.1%, 95% CI 2.9 to 17.2, p = 0.003). Treatment was deemed "effective" in more hospital (58.8%) than home (42.6%) patients. The cost of hospital treatment was higher than home treatment (mean difference 9,005 pounds, 95% CI 3,507 to 14,700, p<0.001). The mean ICER was 46,098 pounds (2.5th and 97.5th percentiles -374,044 and 362,472). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital treatment was more effective but more expensive than home treatment. Potential methods to improve outcome at home should be considered but these may have resource implications. Also same data report [PubMed]

2005 Smyth A, Tan K H-V, Hyman-Taylor P, Mulhearn M, Lewis S, Stableforth D, Knox A, for the TOPIC study group. Once versus three-time daily regimens of tobramycin treatment for pulmonary exacerbations of cystic fibrosis - the TOPIC study: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet2005; 365:573-578. [PubMed]
An important trial the results of which had a definite influence on patient management. The trial was coordinated by Dr Alan Smyth of Nottingham. 219 patients (107 had once and 112 thrice daily tobramycin) and both regimens were of equal efficiency for treating pulmonary exacerbations. There was a suggestion that the once daily regimen might be less nephrotoxic in children.

The results of this trial allowed the once daily treatment to be confidently recommended by the CF Trust's Antibiotic Group (2009) for both adults and children with CF and also resulted in a number of other publications on pharmacokinetics and lack of ototoxicity in the trial (Mulheran M et al, Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2006; 50:2293-2299. [PubMed] and nephrotoxicity (Smyth et al. Thorax 2008; 63:532-535). [PubMed]

2005 Ahya VN. Doyle AM. Mendez JD. Lipson DA. Christie JD. Blumberg EA. Pochettino A. Nelson L. Bloom RD. Kotloff RM. Renal and vestibular toxicity due to inhaled tobramycin in a lung transplant recipient. J Heart Lung Transplant 2005; 24:932-935. [PubMed]
The safety of inhaled tobramycin in transplant recipients, however, has not been established. We describe the first report of a lung transplant recipient who developed renal failure and vestibular injury after receiving inhaled tobramycin. We review the literature regarding the safety of inhaled tobramycin and discuss potential mechanisms that may promote systemic toxicity in transplant recipients.

2005 Al-Aloul M. Miller H. Stockton P. Ledson MJ. Walshaw MJ. Acute renal failure in CF patients chronically infected by the Liverpool epidemic Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain (LES). J Cyst Fibros 2005; 4:197-201. [PubMed]
Eight cases of acute renal failure in adult CF patients, all occurring during the use of intravenous aminoglycosides for the treatment of pulmonary exacerbations with an epidemic multi-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain. Potential contributory factors are discussed. These cases demonstrate another complication of infection by epidemic Pseudomonas strains in CF, and confirm the need for effective segregation policies to prevent this.

2005 Taccetti G, Campana S, Festini F, Mascherini M, Doring G. Early eradication therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients. Eur Respir J 2005; 26:458-461. [PubMed]
Early antibiotic treatment of lung infection in people with CF has been shown to lead to eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). Early antibiotic therapy leads to a PA free-period of a median (range) of 18 (4-80) months. New acquisition with different PA genotypes occurs in 73% of episodes. It also delays the decline of lung function compared with chronically infected patients. The treatment substantially lowers chronic PA prevalence in CF. <

Yet more evidence that early antibiotic therapy of P. aeruginosa infection exerts beneficial effects on the patient's clinical status and is cost-effective compared with conventional antibiotic therapy for chronically infected cystic fibrosis patients.

2005 Saiman L. Mayer-Hamblett N. Campbell P. Marshall BC. Macrolide Study Group. Heterogeneity of treatment response to azithromycin in patients with cystic fibrosis. Am J Resp Critl Care 2005; 172:1008-1012. [PubMed]
Azithromycin participants in the previous CFF azithromycin trial experienced benefits in exacerbation parameters, hospitalisations and use of additional oral antibiotics regardless of whether their FEV1 improved or not during the trial. The authors suggest that these data have implications for clinical practice and the design of clinical trials. 2005 O'Mahony M. Skehan S. Gallagher C. Percutaneous stenting of the superior vena cava syndrome in a patient with cystic fibrosis. Irish Med J 2005; 98:85-86. [PubMed] Superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction commonly occurs in the setting of malignancy. Cases of benign SVC obstruction are being seen more frequently with the use of long-term central venous lines. This is the case particularly in Cystic Fibrosis (CF). We describe in this report the successful use of intravascular stenting to treat this distressing condition in the setting of thrombotic occlusion of the SVC in a patient with CF.

This report from MIke Mahony's unit in Limerick is one of an increasing number of reports of complications associated with the use of totally implantable venous access devices.

2006 Mulheran M. Hyman-Taylor P. Tan KH. Lewis S. Stableforth D. Knox A. Smyth A. Absence of cochleotoxicity measured by standard and high-frequency pure tone audiometry in a trial of once- versus three-times-daily tobramycin in cystic fibrosis patients. Antimicrob Agents Ch 2006; 50:2293-9. [PubMed]
We undertook assessment of hearing in patients with cystic fibrosis who were taking part in a large randomized controlled trial of once- versus three-times-daily tobramycin for pulmonary exacerbations of cystic fibrosis (the TOPIC study). Complete pre- and post treatment standard audiological data were obtained for 168/219 patients. We found no significant differences in hearing thresholds when they were assessed at the baseline, at the end of treatment, and at follow-up 6 to 8 weeks later were compared. In addition, no significant differences in hearing thresholds were detected between treatment regimens. Similar results were obtained for the subset of 63/168 patients who underwent high-frequency audiometry. We conclude that for a single 14-day course of tobramycin treatment in patients with cystic fibrosis with no preexisting auditory deficit, no measurable effect on hearing was apparent with either once- or three-times-daily treatment. Estimation of the cumulative cochleotoxic risk in cystic fibrosis patients due to repeated aminoglycoside therapy, as evidenced by the patients excluded from this study due to hearing loss, also requires further characterization.

2006 Garwood S, Flume PA, Ravenel J. Superior vena cava syndrome related to indwelling intravenous catheters in patients with cystic fibrosis. Pediatr Pulmonol 2006; 41:683-687. [PubMed]
Three patients with CF had superior vena cava syndrome (thrombosis in the large vein entering the heart) due to the presence in the vessel of a foreign body i.e. the implantable venous access device.
Although these devices proved to be a major overall advance since their introduction in the mid-Eighties, a variety of complications have been reported particularly if the devices are not cared for by experts – these include infection and various vascular clotting problems even paradoxical embolisation (Espiritu JD, Kleinhenz ME. Mayo Clin Proc 2000; 75:1100-1102). [PubMed] Experience at CF centres shows that this particular complication is not rare and most have experienced one or two cases.

2006 Williams V, Riley A, Rayner R, Richardson K. Inhaled nitrous oxide during painful procedures: a satisfaction survey. Paediatric Nursing 2006; 18:31-33. [PubMed]
Inhaled nitrous oxide was safe and effective in reducing trauma and the effects of needle phobia and being offered to children with CF for procedural pain in the district general hospital at Wolverhampton.


Fig. 45: Dr Rosie Rayner

Dr Rosie Rayner (figure 45), the paediatrician, was previously the CF Research Fellow in Nottingham. The use of nitrous oxide had been previously reported at CF Meetings by this team from Wolverhampton (Williams V et al, J Cyst Fibros 2004; 3: S100 Poster 376; also Maddison JC et al, Poster 377; original report by Mills HL & Redmond AOB, 2001 above).

2006 Gibson RL, Retsch-Bogart GZ, Oermann C, Milla C, Pilewski J, Daines C, Ahrens R, Leon K, Cohen M, McNamara S, Callahan TL, Markus R, Burns JL. Microbiology, safety, and pharmacokinetics of aztreonam lysinate for inhalation in patients with cystic fibrosis. Pediatr Pulmonol 2006; 41:656-665. [PubMed]
Aztreonam lysinate for inhalation (AI) is a novel monobactam formulation for chronic pulmonary Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in CF. The activity of Al was retained against multiple CF isolates after nebulisation via eFlow nebuliser, and the activity was not inhibited by CF sputum. All 12 adult subjects and 11 of 12 adolescents tolerated the inhaled antibiotic. These data were supportive of the continued development of aztreonam lysinate for treatment of patients with CF.
Original aztreonam was not tolerated as an inhalation but the lysinate is suitable for nebulisation. This study also confirms that nebulisation does not denature the product. Phase III trials were completed by 2008 (Retsch-Bogart et al, 2008 [PubMed] [PubMed] below) and by 2009 the product licensed in Europe and Canada; and anticipated in the USA in 2010.

2006 Wood DM, Smyth AR. Antibiotic strategies for eradicating Pseudomonas aeruginosa in people with cystic fibrosis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. (1):CD004197, 2006. [PubMed]
This search identified 15 trials on the subject but the reviewers considered only 3 trials, involving 69 participants, were eligible for inclusion. The reviewers considered that there was evidence from two randomised controlled trials, of “questionable methodological quality”, that treatment of early P. aeruginosa infection with inhaled tobramycin resulted in microbiological eradication of the organism from respiratory secretions more often than placebo and that this effect may persist for up to 12 months, however incomplete data from one of the trials precluded an accurate analysis.
One randomised controlled trial of oral ciprofloxacin and nebulised colistin versus usual treatment was identified (Valerius et al, 1991 above) but the reviewers considered this trial was of “poor methodological quality”. The results suggested treatment of early infection results in microbiological eradication of P. aeruginosa more often than “usual” treatment, after two years. The reviewers considered that there was insufficient evidence to determine whether antibiotic strategies for the eradication of early P. aeruginosa decrease mortality or morbidity, improve quality of life, or are associated with adverse effects compared to placebo or standard treatment. From the three trials included in this review, there was some evidence that antibiotic treatment of early P. aeruginosa results in short-term eradication but it remains uncertain whether there is clinical benefit to people with cystic fibrosis.

The conclusions of this Cochrane review were quite out of keeping with the clinical experience of most CF clinicians and the study was soundly criticised by Prof. Neils Hoiby who regarded further trials as unwarranted. The opinion of an experienced and respected clinician such as the late Christian Koch was representative of current opinion (quoted in entry on Valerius et al, 1991 above). There was by this time of this review (2006) a wealth of evidence that avoidance of chronic P. aeruginosa infection improved clinical condition and increased survival – evidence that the reviewers did not consider (Kerem et al, 1990; Henry et al, 1992; Hudson et al, 1993; Pamucku et al, 1995 above; Frederiksen et al, 1996; CF Foundation Patient Registry 1996; Frederiksen et al, 1997 above; Kosorok et al, 2001). Presumably this evidence was ignored as it did not directly concern eradication of P. aeruginosa.
It is important to stress that eradication of early P. aeruginosa infection, to prevent or delay chronic infection, is one of the most important aspects of therapy and acquisition of chronic infection should now be regarded as avoidable and represent a failure of therapy (Drittanti et al, 1996 above). >

2006 Ratjen F. Rietschel E. Kasel D. Schwiertz R. Starke K. Beier H. van Koningsbruggen S. Grasemann H. Pharmacokinetics of inhaled colistin in patients with cystic fibrosis. J Antimicrob Chemo2006; 57:306-311. [PubMed]
Inhaled colistin is commonly used in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), but only limited data are available to define its pharmacokinetic profile. We performed a multicentre study in 30 CF patients to assess sputum, serum and urine concentrations after a single dose of 2 million units of colistin administered by inhalation. In a subgroup of patients we also compared the efficacy of two different nebulizers for administration of inhaled colistin. Serum concentrations of colistin reached their maximum 1.5 h after inhalation and decreased thereafter. Serum concentrations were well below those previously reported for systemic application in all patients. A mean 4.3+/-1.3% of the inhaled dose was detected in urine. Elimination characteristics did not differ significantly from those previously reported for systemic application. A positive correlation was found between forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) in per cent predicted and both AUC and maximal colistin concentrations in serum (Cmax). Maximum sputum concentrations were at least 10 times higher than the MIC breakpoint for Pseudomonas aeruginosa proposed by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Although sputum drug concentrations decreased after a peak at 1 h, the mean colistin concentrations were still above 4 mg/L after 12 h. No differences were seen in polymyxin E sputum concentrations, for CF patients between the two nebulizer systems.

The authors concluded the low systemic and high local concentrations of colistin supported the use of inhaled colistin in CF patients infected with P. aeruginosa. This was reassuring as inhaled colistin had been increasingly used since the first report of its use in eradicating early Pseudomonas infection in CF (Littlewood et al, Nebulised colomycin for early Pseudomonas colonisation in cystic fibrosis. Lancet 1985; I: 865). [PubMed] No pharmacokinetic studies were done before we gave inhaled colomycin in the early Eighties to see if it would clear early Pseudomonas infection! However, I did write to the firm and asked if they thought it would be a reasonable treatment ot try.

2007 Veenstra DL. Harris J. Gibson RL. Rosenfeld M. Burke W. Watts C. Pharmacogenomic testing to prevent aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss in cystic fibrosis patients: potential impact on clinical, patient, and economic outcomes. Genetics in Medicine 2007; 9:695-704. [PubMed]
Recently, a genetic test to identify patients with a mitochondrial mutation (A1555G) that may predispose patients aminoglycoside induced deafness has become available. Although the A1555G variant is very rare, it seems to confer a high risk of severe hearing loss in patients exposed to aminoglycosides. The authors calculated that A1555G testing decreased the risk of severe aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss by 0.12% in the cystic fibrosis population. The results of their analysis suggest that there are significant data gaps and uncertainty in the outcomes with A1555G testing, but it is not likely cost-effective, and could lead to worse patient outcomes due to avoidance of first-line therapy in the >95% of patients who are false-positives. Additional research is needed before pharmacogenetic testing for the A1555G mitochondrial mutation can be recommended, even in a population with a high likelihood of exposure to aminoglycosides.

The full methodology is described in this paper using already published data and the conclusion was that the denial of aminoglycoside therapy would overall worsen the prognosis. However, it is important to stress that repeated course of gentamicin should be avoided in people with CF.

2007 Brochet MS. McDuff AC. Bussières JF. Caron E. Fortin G. Lebel D. Marcotte JE. Comparative efficacy of two doses of nebulized colistimethate in the eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in children with cystic fibrosis. Canad Resp J 2007; 14:473-479. [PubMed] A study to compare the efficacy of two doses of nebulized colistimethate (30 mg versus 75 mg twice daily) for the eradication of P aeruginosa in children with CF and intermittent colonization. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of eradication of P aeruginosa at days 28 and 90, neither when comparing the doses of colistimethate nor duration of treatment.

Most antibiotic regimens for eradicating early P. aeruginosa infection seem to achieve about an 80% success. The time to re infection varies and will depend on the environmental exposure of the individual to P. aeruginosa as it has been shown that "recurrences" are usually new infections with a different strain of the organism

2007 Gibson RL, Emerson J, Mayer-Hamblett N, Burns JL, McNamara S, Accurso FJ, Konstan MW, Chatfield BA, Retsch-Bogart G, Waltz DA, Acton J, Zeitlin P, Hiatt P, Moss R, Williams J, Ramsey BW. Duration of treatment effect after tobramycin solution for inhalation in young children with cystic fibrosis. Pediatr Pulmonol 2007; 42:610-623. [PubMed]
An open label, sequential cohort study of tobramycin for inhalation (TSI) in young children with CF to investigate duration of antimicrobial treatment effect. Culture based, lower airway Pseudomonas eradication was observed in the majority of subjects for up to 1-3 months following TSI treatment. The authors concluded that tobramycin solution for inhalation monotherapy was safe and could eradicate lower airway P. aeruginosa for up to 3 months after treatment in young children with CF.

These results are not surprising and could have been predicted, as a number of European studies studies had already shown that inhaled tobramycin, even in a more modest dose of 80 mg twice daily, was effective in eradicating P. aeruginosa (Weismann HG, et al. Pediatr Pulmonol 1998; 25:88-92. [PubMed]; Ratjen F, et al. Lancet 2001; 358:983-984). [PubMed]The dose of inhaled tobramycin of 300mg twice daily seems formidable and perhaps unnecessarily large as judged by previous experience –particularly in view of the great cost (£10,000 per year in the UK if given on alternate months as recommended). Nevertheless this was a good study from a major CF centre in N. America which accelerated the progress to early treatment of Pseudomonas there.

2007 Chuchalin A, Csiszer E, Gyurkovics K, Bartnicka MT, Sands D, Kapranov N, Varoli G, Monici Preti PA, Mazurek H. A formulation of aerosolized tobramycin (Bramitob) in the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. Paediatr Drugs. 2007; 9 Suppl 1:21-31. [PubMed]
The purpose of this trial was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of a relatively recently introduced preparation of tobramycin highly concentrated solution for inhalation (TSI) [300mg/4mL; Bramitob] when added to other anti-Pseudomonal therapies in CF patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection. A total of 247 patients were randomized in the study. No significant changes in serum creatinine and auditory function were detected. Long-term, intermittent administration of this aerosolized tobramycin formulation (300mg/4mL) in CF patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection significantly improved pulmonary function and microbiologic outcome, decreased hospitalizations, increased nutritional status, and was well tolerated.

This preparation appears to be the same or similar to TOBI and therefore it is not surprising that the results are similar (Poli G, et al, 2007. [PubMed]; Lenoir G et al. 2007). [PubMed]; hopefully the cost will be less.

2007 Bruzzese E, Raia V, Spagnuolo MI, Volpicelli M, De Marco G. Maiuri L, Guarino A. Effect of Lactobacillus GG supplementation on pulmonary exacerbations in patients with cystic fibrosis. Clinical Nutrition 2007; 26:322-328. [PubMed]
Nineteen children with CF received a probiotic Lactobacillus GG (LGG) for 6 months and then changed to a placebo of oral rehydration solution (ORS) for 6 months; in parallel nineteen received ORS and then changed to LGG. Patients treated with LGG showed a reduction of pulmonary exacerbations (Median 1 vs. 2) and of hospital admissions (Median 0 vs. 1, range 3 vs. 2,). LGG resulted in a greater increase in FEV1 (3.6% +/- 5.2 vs. 0.9% +/- 5; p=0.02) and body weight (1.5 kg +/- 1.8 vs. 0.7 kg +/- 1.8; p=0.02). The authors concluded that Lactobacillus GG reduces pulmonary exacerbations and hospital admissions in patients with CF, that probiotics may delay respiratory impairment and that a relationship exists between intestinal and pulmonary inflammation.

There is an increasing interest on the part of patients, parents and doctors in the role probiotics in treating people with CF (Borowitz D et al, J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2005; 41:273-285. [PubMed]); however, as yet, few CF clinics advise their routine use, perhaps because the evidence of their value is still sparse but also there are so many other components to treatment that there is reluctance to add yet another medicine to gain a marginal benefit.

2007 Geller DE, Konstan MW, Smith J, Noonberg SB, Conrad C. Novel tobramycin inhalation powder in cystic fibrosis subjects: pharmacokinetics and safety. Pediatr Pulmonol 2007; 42:307-313. [PubMed]
An evaluation of the pharmacokinetics and safety of tobramycin inhalation powder (TIP), a novel dry-powder formulation designed to deliver a high payload of tobramycin topically to the lungs for management of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.
The development of dry powder inhaled antibiotics represents an important advance in the treatment of chronic lung infections but is by no means a new idea (Krasno L et al. Inhalation of penicillin dust. Science 1947; 106:249-250. [PubMed] ;Goldman JM et al. Inhaled micronised gentamicin powder: a new delivery system. Thorax 1990; 45:939-940. [PubMed]; Watson A et al. Sputum gentamicin levels after delivery by Rotahaler and nebuliser in Escobar H et al.(eds.) Elsevier Science Publishers. 1993; 115-117).

2007 Etherington C. Bosomworth M. Clifton I. Peckham DG. Conway SP. Measurement of urinary N-acetyl-b-D-glucosaminidase in adult patients with cystic fibrosis: before, during and after treatment with intravenous antibiotics. J Cyst Fibros 2007; 6:67-73. [PubMed]Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are at high risk from the nephrotoxic effects of intravenous antibiotics due to repeated and prolonged courses of therapy. Routine methods of monitoring renal injury are insensitive. N-acetyl-b-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) is a lysosomal enzyme present in the renal proximal tubular cells, with increased excretion an indicator of renal tubular dysfunction. Urinary NAG, creatinine, serum creatinine, electrolytes and BUN were measured on days 1, 14 and at the first out-patient visit following treatment with tobramycin or colistin. Urinary NAG levels were corrected for urinary creatinine and expressed as a NAG ratio. Patients who received>1 course of intravenous antibiotics during the study period were included in a separate analysis of the cumulative effect of treatment. RESULTS: 88 patients (44 female, 31 with CFRD) completed a single course of intravenous antibiotics. 71 patients had urinary NAG levels at follow-up. The median time to follow-up was 50 days. Serum electrolytes, creatinine and BUN were normal throughout. A 3.5-fold increase in urinary NAG excretion was observed between day 1 and 14 and 46% of patients had an elevated NAG level at follow-up. A highly significant difference in NAG excretion was observed on day 14 for tobramycin vs. colistin (median 2.24 vs. 0.98, p<0.001). A significant difference in NAG excretion was seen in patients with CFRD at all measured time points. Patients with CFRD had a significantly worse clinical status and had received more days of intravenous antibiotics over the previous 6 years. In 20 (80%) of 25 patients who received>1 course of treatment during the study period, baseline NAG levels were significantly higher in subsequent courses (p<0.001). There was a significant correlation between previous exposure to colistin and baseline NAG levels (r=0.389, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Both tobramycin and colistin cause acute renal tubular injury with a significant rise in urinary NAG excretion. Patients with CFRD seem to be at greatest risk of renal tubular damage. Cumulative damage is evident with repeated dosing. Previous exposure to nephrotoxic antibiotics, especially colistin, is associated with elevated baseline NAG levels. We recommend that colistin is reserved for patients with resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa or those who are intolerant to tobramycin. Serial longitudinal NAG measurements may be useful in patients with CF, especially those with CFRD, to identify patients at risk of developing renal disease.

Measurement of urinary NAG in relation to aminoglycoside treatment has been periodically studied since our first European conference report in 1984 (Miller MG et al. Nephrotoxicity of aminoglycosides. In: Lawson D ed. Cystic fibrosis: horizons. John Wiley & Sons Chichester 1984; 271; also Glass S et al. J Cyst Fibros 2005; 4:221-225. [PubMed]; Ring E et al. Arch Dis Child 1998; 78:540-543). [PubMed] All studies have shown transient rises of urinary NAG during aminoglycoside treatment indicating some tubular injury which recovers after the treatment; although in the Miller et al study the rise in NAG was increasingly greater with each additional course of aminoglycosides. With increasing longevity of people with CF the cumulative effect of these repeated minor renal injuries are likely to become more relevant as evidenced by the increasing problem of renal failure in people with CF (Smyth A et al. Case-control study of acute renal failure in patients with cystic fibrosis in the UK. Thorax 2008; 63:532-535.). In some, the effect of repeated courses of intravenous aminoglycosides is worsened by the immunosuppressive drugs required after lung transplantation

Interestingly, urinary NAG levels were observed to rise after prolonged nebulised gentamicin used (successfully it must be added) to prevent Pseudomonas infection in children with CF and considered to present a risk of renal toxicity (Ring E et al. Arch Dis Child 1998; 78:540-543. [PubMed]). However, subsequent publications on the long term use of nebulised gentamicin in non-CF bronchiectasis consider there to be negligible absorption and the treatment suitable for children ( Twiss TJ et al, 2005 [PubMed] and adults (Murray M P, et al, 2010). [PubMed]
In the UK it is advised that both nebulised and intravenous gentamicin are avoided in people with CF (Antibiotic Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis. CF Trust 3rd edition 2009).

2007 Coulthard KP, Peckham DG, Conway SP, Smith CA, Bell J, Turnidge J. Therapeutic drug monitoring of once daily tobramycin in cystic fibrosis - caution with trough concentrations. J Cyst Fibros 2007; 6:125-130. [PubMed]
Once daily intravenous aminoglycoside dosing (ODD) is widely used to treat acute Pseudomonas aeruginosa exacerbations in patients with cystic fibrosis. Controversy exists as to what is the most appropriate method of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of such therapy with recommendations including trough plasma concentrations of <1 mg/L or <2 mg/L, area under curve (AUC) and various nomograms. After the study the authors concluded that “Area under the curve (AUC) as the method of therapeutic drug monitoring may not only reduce toxicity but also optimise efficiency”.


Fig. 53: Kingsley Coulthard

Kiingsley Coultard is a widely-travelled pharmacologist from Adelaide who has visited many CF centres including Leeds on a number of occasions.
2007 Etherington C, Bosomworth M, Clifton I, Peckham DG, Conway SP. Measurement of urinary N-acetyl-b-D-glucosaminidase in adult patients with cystic fibrosis: before, during and after treatment with intravenous antibiotics. J Cyst Fibros 2007; 6;67-73. [PubMed]
Both tobramycin and colistin cause mild acute renal tubular injury with a significant rise in urinary NAG excretion. Patients with CFRD seem to be at greatest risk of renal tubular damage. Cumulative damage is evident with repeated dosing. Previous exposure to nephrotoxic antibiotics, especially colistin, is associated with elevated baseline NAG levels. The authors recommend that intravenous colistin is reserved for patients with resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa or those who are intolerant to tobramycin. Serial longitudinal NAG measurements may be useful in patients with CF, especially those with CFRD, to identify patients at risk of developing renal disease.

2008 Hansen CR. Pressler T. Høiby N. Early aggressive eradication therapy for intermittent Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway colonization in cystic fibrosis patients: 15 years experience. J Cyst Fibros 2008; 7:523-530. [PubMed]
Since 1989, CF-patients intermittently colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been treated with inhaled colistin and oral ciprofloxacin in the Copenhagen CF-centre. The study evaluates 15 years results of this treatment. METHODS: All isolates of P. aeruginosa from CF-patients intermittently colonized with P. aeruginosa from 1989 to 2003 were identified All anti-P. aeruginosa treatments were evaluated for antibiotics used, treatment duration, pseudomonas-free interval and development of chronic infection. All P. aeruginosa isolates were assessed for resistance and for non-mucoid or mucoid phenotype. RESULTS: 146 CF-patients were included in the study (1106 patient-years). 99 patients had first ever isolate during the study period. Median observation time 7 years (0.1-14.9). 12 patients developed chronic infection. A Kaplan Meyer plot showed protection from chronic infection in up to 80% of patients for up to 15 years. 613 colistin/ciprofloxacin treatments were given. There was no difference in pseudomonas-free interval comparing 3 weeks (5 months) and 3 months (10.4 months) of colistin and ciprofloxacin, but a significant difference compared to no treatment (1.9 months). Patients developing chronic infection had significantly shorter pseudomonas-free interval after treatment of first ever isolate compared to patients remaining intermittently colonized (p<0.003). Treatment failure (P. aeruginosa-positive culture immediately after ended treatment of first ever isolate) was a strong risk factor for development of chronic infection after 3-4 years, OR 5.8. 1093 pseudomonas-isolates were evaluated (86.6% non-mucoid). No colistin-resistance was found. Ciprofloxacin-resistance was found in 4% of isolates. CONCLUSION: Treatment of intermittent P. aeruginosa colonization in CF-patients using colistin and ciprofloxacin can protect up to 80% of patients from development of chronic infection for up to 15 years. A positive culture immediately after treatment of first ever isolate is a strong risk factor for development of chronic infection. We found no colistin-resistance and minimal ciprofloxacin-resistance.

This valuable paper describes experience from the team in Copenhagen and is reported in full as it represents experience from one of the first European CF centres to introduce early eradication therapy for P. aeruginosa.The effect of this treatment has protected many patients from chronic P. aeruginosa infection for many years.

2008 Johansen HK. Moskowitz SM. Ciofu O. Pressler T. Høiby N. Spread of colistin resistant non-mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa among chronically infected Danish cystic fibrosis patients. J Cyst Fibros 2008; 7:391-397. [PubMed]
Colistin resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa have rarely been reported in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We performed a 17-year prospective study on colistin susceptibility and compared our findings with clinical variables. The first outbreak started in 1995 and lasted 5 years. It involved 27 CF patients who had inhaled colistin twice daily for a median of 10 years. Colistin resistant isolates persisted in individual patients for a median of 75 days after colistin was withdrawn. A second outbreak started in 2004. It involved 40 patients, 17 of whom were the same as in the first outbreak. Most resistant isolates belonged to two major clones that had similar genotypes in the two outbreaks. The P. aeruginosa isolates were all non-mucoid and they appeared in a group of chronically infected patients that had been admitted to the same ward for antibiotic treatment and had been followed at the same week-days in the outpatient clinic. Patients were individually isolated to avoid cross-infection and colistin inhalation was avoided in the CF outpatient clinic and in the ward after both outbreaks. Since 2004, no further spread has been observed. it is important that the colistin resistant clones do not spread to non-infected patients since colistin is an important antibiotic for eradication of initial and intermittent P. aeruginosa colonisation.

Infrequent resistance even with widespread use of colistin in the Danish CF centre

2008 Nikolaizik WH. Vietzke D. Ratjen F. A pilot study to compare tobramycin 80 mg injectable preparation with 300 mg solution for inhalation in cystic fibrosis patients. Can Respir J 2008; 15:259-262. [PubMed]
In an open crossover study of CF patients, subjects were randomly allocated to receive either 80 mg tobramycin twice-daily continuous treatment or 300 mg tobramycin twice daily in cycles of 28 days on and 28 days off treatment. After three months, patients were switched to the alternative treatment regimen. A total of 32 patients with a mean (+/- SD) age of 18.5+/-8.6 years were included in the study. Compared with the treatment period using colistin, forced expiratory volume in 1 s decreased by -2.1+/-13.8% in the 80 mg tobramycin group and increased by +2.3+/-13.0% in the 300 mg group. Similar changes were observed in forced vital capacity (-2.5+/-12.9% in the 80 mg tobramycin group versus +2.5+/-9.6% in the 300 mg tobramycin group). Variability in responses was large but the differences were not statistically significant. Personal preference indicated that the majority of patients preferred the high-dose cycle compared with the lower dose continuous inhalation, but this was not linked to objective data on efficacy. The present trial fails to provide convincing evidence for superiority in efficacy of either of the two treatment regimens of inhaled tobramycin in CF patients.

In the UK since the Eighties injectable tobramycin was nebulised by people with CF to suppress their chronic P. aeruginosa chest infection. It is disappointing that the results in this trial were inconclusive although the dose difference appeared to tip the balance in favour of the TOBI. Tobramycin injectable is no longer licensed for inhalation in the UK.

2008 Ghayyda SN. Roland D. Cade A. Seat belt associated central line fracture--a previously unreported complication in cystic fibrosis. J Cyst Fibros 2008; 7:448-449.[PubMed]
It is not routine practice to advise on seating position within the car in relationship to the seatbelt placement over the anterior chest wall. Line failure due to direct pressure from a seatbelt worn to prevent injury in the sudden deceleration involved during a motor vehicle accident (MVA) has not been described previously in the CF literature We report the case of an 8 year old child who fractured her Vascuport(R) line secondary to seatbelt trauma following a road traffic accident (RTA). Children and adults with CF should be advised to sit in the car on the side that places the shoulder strap of the seatbelt on the opposite side to the TIVAD line.

This is a useful practical report which will help to prevent a complication not previously reported.

2008 Retsch-Bogart GZ, Burns JL, Otto KL, Liou TG, McCoy K, Oermann C, Gibson RL. AZLI Phase II Study Group. A phase 2 study of aztreonam lysine for inhalation to treat patients with cystic fibrosis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Pediatr Pulmonol 2008; 43:47-58. [PubMed]
This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study evaluated the safety, tolerability and efficacy of 75 mg and 225 mg aztreonam lysine (AZLI) administered twice daily for 14 days There was a statistically significant reduction, compared to placebo, in P. aeruginosa CFU density in each AZLI group at Days 7 and 14 (P<0.001). The planned primary analysis, percent change in FEV1 at Day 14, demonstrated no statistically significant difference. Further analysis demonstrated significant increase in FEV1 at Day 7 for the subset of patients with baseline FEV1<75% predicted in the 225 mg AZLI group. Bronchodilator use was associated with greater improvement in FEV1, as well as greater reduction in P. aeruginosa bacterial density and higher plasma aztreonam concentrations in the 225 mg AZLI group. The authors concluded that these data support the further development of AZLI and provide information for the design of subsequent studies (Retsch-Bogart et al, 2008 below).

2008 Retsch-Bogart GZ, McCoy KS, Gibson RL, Oermann C, Montgomery AB. Source of improvement in lung function in patients with cystic fibrosis following treatment with aztreonam lysine for inhalation (AZLI). Pediatr Pulmonol 2008; Suppl 31: Abstract 336:320.
Phase III study of treatment with 28 days of AZLI 75mg three times daily led to significant improvements in FEV1 and FVC compared to controls. At 28 days treated group had 10.2 better FEV1% and 5 better FVC% than did controls.

So inhaled aztreonam lysine is a valuable addition to the inhaled antibiotics available for treating people with CF and was licensed by 2010.

2009 Retsch-Bogart GZ, Quittner AL, Gibson RL, Oermann CM, McCoy KS, Montgomery AB, Cooper PJ. Efficacy and safety of inhaled aztreonam lysine for airway Pseudomonas in cystic fibrosis. Chest 2009; 135:1223-1232. [PubMed]
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, international study (AIR-CF1 trial; June 2005 to April 2007), patients (n = 164; >or= 6 years of age) with FEV(1) >or= 25% and <or= 75% predicted values, and no recent use of anti-Pseudomonal antibiotics or azithromycin were treated with 75 mg of AZLI (three times daily for 28 days) or placebo (1:1 randomization), then were monitored for 14 days after study drug completion. The primary efficacy end point was change in patient-reported respiratory symptoms. Secondary end points included changes in pulmonary function (FEV1), sputum PA density, and non-respiratory CFQ-R scales. After 28 days of treatment, AZLI improved the mean CFQ-R respiratory score (9.7 points; p < 0.001), FEV1 (10.3% predicted; p < 0.001), and sputum PA density (- 1.453 log(10) cfu/g; p < 0.001), compared with placebo. The incidence of "productive cough" was reduced by half in AZLI-treated patients. PA aztreonam susceptibility at baseline and end of therapy were similar. So in patients with CF, PA airway infection, moderate-to-severe lung disease, and no recent use of anti-Pseudomonal antibiotics or azithromycin, 28-day treatment with AZLI significantly improved respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function, and was well tolerated.
Also McCoy KS et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2008; 178:921-928. <[PubMed].

2009 Antibiotic Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis. Report of the UK Cystic Fibrosis Trust Antibiotic Working Group. 3rd Edition. Cystic Fibrosis Trust. London. 2009. (CF Trust website www.cftrust.org.uk).
This group chaired by Dr Alan Smyth produced a very detailed and liberally referenced up to date account of the current recommendations for antibiotic use in people with CF in the UK. The recommendations differ significantly from those in N. America largely in the policy of early eradication of P. aeruginosa and the recommendation to use long term prophylactic anti-staphylococcal therapy for the first three years of life.


Fig. 57: Dr Alan Smyth

Dr Alan Smyth (figure 57) is Reader in Paediatrics at Nottingham University and Director of the Nottingham Paediatric CF Centre at the Nottingham City Hospital.

2009 Ratjen F, Munck A, Kho P, Angyalosi G. Treatment of early Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in patients with cystic fibrosis: the ELITE trial. Thorax. 2009 Dec 8. [PubMed]
The EarLy Inhaled Tobramycin for Eradication (ELITE) study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of two regimens (28 and 56 days) of tobramycin inhalation solution (TIS) 300 mg/5 mL (TOBI(R)) twice daily for the treatment of early onset P. aeruginosa infection in CF patients. Children aged 6 months and over with early P. aeruginosa infection were treated for 28 days with TIS twice daily after which they were randomised to either stop or to receive a further 28 days treatment. The primary endpoint was the median time to recurrence of P. aeruginosa (any strain). Secondary endpoints included the proportion of patients free of P. aeruginosa infection one month after cessation of therapy and safety assessments.
The median time to recurrence of P. aeruginosa (any strain) was similar between the two groups. In total, 93% and 92% of the patients were free of P. aeruginosa infection one month after the end of treatment and 66% and 69% remained free after 27 months in the 28-day and 56-day groups, respectively. So treatment with inhaled tobramycin 28 days was an effective and well tolerated therapy for early P. aeruginosa infection in CF patients.

2009 Flume PA. Mogayzel PJ Jr. Robinson KA. Goss CH. Rosenblatt RL. Kuhn RJ. Marshall BC. Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pulmonary Therapies Committee. Cystic fibrosis pulmonary guidelines: treatment of pulmonary exacerbations. Am J Resp Crit Car 2009; 180:802-808. [PubMed].
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation established a committee to define the key questions related to pulmonary exacerbations, review the clinical evidence using an evidence-based methodology, and provide recommendations to clinicians.

2009 Hubert D. Le Roux E. Lavrut T. Wallaert B. Scheid P. Manach D. Grenet D. Sermet-Gaudelus I. Ramel S. Cracowski C. Sardet A. Wizla N. Deneuville E. Garraffo R. Continuous versus intermittent infusions of ceftazidime for treating exacerbation of cystic fibrosis. Antimicrob Agents Ch 2009; 53:3650-3656. [PubMed]
Patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization received two successive courses of intravenous tobramycin and ceftazidime (200 mg/kg of body weight/day) for pulmonary exacerbation administered as thrice-daily short infusions or as a continuous infusion. The continuous infusion of ceftazidime appeared to be as efficient as short infusions in patients with cystic fibrosis as a whole, but it gave better results in patients harboring resistant isolates of P. aeruginosa.

Ideally a steady blood level of ceftazidime should be maintained during treatment in contrast to aminoglycosides where peak levels are ideal. Previous studies have shown continuous infusion of CZ to be more satisfactory and are recommend for maximum effect - for example when attempting to eradicate Pseudomonas. It is interesting that better result were obtained in the present study when treating resistant bacteria.

2009 Okusanya OO. Bhavnani SM. Hammel J. Minic P. Dupont LJ. Forrest A. Mulder GJ. Mackinson C. Ambrose PG. Gupta R. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluation of liposomal amikacin for inhalation in cystic fibrosis patients with chronic pseudomonal infection. Antimicrob Agent Ch 2009; 53:3847-3854. [PubMed]. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a novel liposomal amikacin for inhalation were evaluated in cystic fibrosis patients with chronic pseudomonas infection. Twenty-four patients from two studies received 500 mg of liposomal amikacin by inhalation once daily for 14 days. While significant relationships between absolute change in PFT endpoints and the ratio of serum or sputum area under the concentration-time curve to the MIC (AUC/MIC) were not observed, relationships between change in log10 CFU and serum AUC/MIC ratio and change in log10 CFU and absolute changes in all PFT endpoints were significant. Together, these findings likely represent drug effect and warrant the further development of liposomal amikacin for inhalation.

One of the few new antibiotic preparations which are going forward for further evaluation.

2009 Treggiari MM. Rosenfeld M. Mayer-Hamblett N. Retsch-Bogart G. Gibson RL. Williams J. Emerson J. Kronmal RA. Ramsey BW. EPIC Study Group. Early anti-pseudomonal acquisition in young patients with cystic fibrosis: rationale and design of the EPIC clinical trial and observational study'. Contemp Clin Trials 2009; 30:256-268.[PubMed].
The Early Pseudomonas Infection Control (EPIC) program consists of two studies, a randomized multicenter trial in CF patients ages 1-12 years at first isolation of Pa from a respiratory culture, and a longitudinal cohort study enrolling Pa-negative patients. Using a factorial design, trial participants are assigned for 18 months to either anti-pseudomonal treatment on a scheduled quarterly basis (cycled therapy) or based on recovery of Pa from quarterly respiratory cultures (culture-based therapy). The study drugs include inhaled tobramycin (300 mg BID) for 28 days, combined with either oral ciprofloxacin (15-20 mg/kg BID) or oral placebo for 14 days. The primary endpoints of the trial are the time to pulmonary exacerbation requiring IV antibiotics or hospitalization for respiratory symptoms, and the proportion of patients with new Pa-positive respiratory cultures during the study.

This major N. American study into the early eradication of Pseudomonas is welcome. The dose of tobramycin would seem to be unnecessarily large as judged by experience from some previous successful European trials.

top