What's New in the Management of Bacterial Infections in the Era of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria?.
10.4285/jkstn.2013.27.3.81
- Author:
Cheol In KANG
1
Author Information
1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. collacin@hotmail.com
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
Bacterial infections;
Antimicrobial resistance;
Antimicrobial agents
- MeSH:
Anti-Infective Agents;
Bacteria;
Bacterial Infections;
Clostridium difficile;
Diarrhea;
Humans;
Immunocompromised Host;
Light;
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus;
Opportunistic Infections;
Organ Transplantation;
Survival Rate;
Transplants
- From:The Journal of the Korean Society for Transplantation
2013;27(3):81-86
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Bacterial infection is an increasingly important diagnosis following successful organ transplantation in humans. This is notwithstanding the fact that opportunistic infections such as those of fungal and viral origin can occur frequently in this population. Infections due to multidrug resistant bacteria have been on the rise since the past decade and not surprisingly continue to challenge physicians. Recent studies show that rapidly increasing rates of infections in such population are due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli. Furthermore, pan-drug-resistant infections are now on the rise, especially in gram-negative bacilli. Regrettably, our therapeutic options for these pathogens are currently extremely limited. Very recently, it has been shown that infections due to Clostridium difficile spp. have been the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. It is a well-known fact that infections due to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria were associated with a greater likelihood of inappropriate antimicrobial therapy. Therefore, it is very clear that inappropriate antimicrobial therapy has an adverse effect on survival rate in patients with serious infections. This is especially true in immunocompromised hosts. Hence, in the light of the above, it is very essential that physicians who are treating immunocompromised patients should be aware of not only current epidemiological status of antimicrobial resistance but also proper clinical practice guidelines to be followed while diagnosing infections due to such antimicrobial agents. The objective of this review is, therefore, to provide a recent update of currently available antimicrobial therapeutic strategies for life-threatening infections due to antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.
