Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in critically ill patients

Abstract

Critically ill patients are on the increase in the present clinical setting. Aging of our population and increasingly aggressive medical and therapeutic interventions, including implanted foreign bodies, organ transplantation and advances in the chemotherapy of malignant diseases, have created a cohort of particularly vulnerable patients. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the leading Gram-negative organisms associated with nosocomial infections. This organism is frequently feared because it causes severe hospital-acquired infections, especially in immunocompromised hosts, and is often antibiotic resistant, complicating the choice of therapy. The epidemiology, microbiology, mechanisms of resistance and currently available and future treatment options for the most relevant infections caused by P. aeruginosa are reviewed.

Keywords::

• aminoglycosides
• antimicrobial therapy
• bacteremia
• carbapenems
• cephalosporins
• critically ill patients
• endocarditis
• meningitis
• polimixins
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa