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Relation Between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Antibiotics

  • Pleuropulmonary and Bronchial Infections (FW Arnold, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) constitutes a major health problem. Recurrent acute exacerbations are characteristic of the course of COPD (AECOPD) associated with significant healthcare costs and contribute to the progress of the disease. Given that almost half of AECOPD is caused by bacteria, administration of antibacterial agents is recommended for patients with severe exacerbations or severe underlying COPD. Optimal antibiotic selection for exacerbations has therefore incorporated quantifying the risk for a poor outcome of the exacerbation and choosing antibiotics differently for low risk and high risk patients. It is unclear whether antibiotics should be provided as prophylactic agents in COPD patients although ongoing trials are reexamining the question of whether the antiinflammatory action of antibiotics such as macrolides can be useful in preventing exacerbations. In addition, nowadays, the occurrence of pneumonia in COPD has received considerable recent attention as it appears to be increased by the use of inhaled corticosteroids.

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Disclosure

Dr. A. Torres has worked as a consultant for Bayer and a board member for Astellas; no other potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pneumology Department, Clinic Institute of Thorax (ICT), Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Salvador Sialer, Mónica Guerrero & Antoni Torres

  2. 1st Pneumology Department, Sotiria Hospital, Mesigion 152, 11527, Athens, Greece

    Liapikou Adamantia

  3. Insitut d’investigacions biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain

    Antoni Torres

  4. Pneumology Department, Hospital Clinic, C/Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    Antoni Torres

Authors
  1. Salvador Sialer
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  2. Liapikou Adamantia
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  3. Mónica Guerrero
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  4. Antoni Torres
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antoni Torres.

Additional information

Supported by: 2009 SGR 911, Ciber de enfermedades respiratorias (ciberes cb06/06/0028), Pneumonia Corporate Research Program (crp). The ciberes is an iniciative of the ISCIII. SGR: Support to research groups of Catalunya

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Sialer, S., Adamantia, L., Guerrero, M. et al. Relation Between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Antibiotics. Curr Infect Dis Rep 14, 300–307 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-012-0255-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-012-0255-7

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