Monitoring cystic fibrosis patients' blood antibiotic concentrations could help improve clinical outcomes, according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Here are four things to know:
1. Cystic fibrosis, which affects about 70,000 people globally, causes a buildup of thick mucus in patients' lungs, which traps bacteria and can cause pulmonary exacerbations. One of the antibiotics used to treat cystic fibrosis must hit a minimum blood concentration threshold for a certain time period to prove effective. However, few healthcare institutions actually measure concentration levels during treatment.
2. The longitudinal study involved nineteen cystic fibrosis patients between ages 5 and 21 who were treated at Washington, D.C.-based Children's National Health System. Children's National researchers followed the patients between March 2015 and August 2016, collecting respiratory secretions before and after patients received recommended antibiotic doses.
3. Researchers found just 47 percent of patients hit the threshold for appropriate therapeutic concentrations. Patients who received higher antibiotic exposure also performed better on pulmonary function tests.
4. Real-time monitoring of antibiotic blood concentrations could help physicians better determine whether patients are receiving adequate antibiotic doses, according to lead author Andrea Hahn, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Children's National. Dr. Hahn said the hospital implemented an algorithm to help determine antibiotic dosing for patients.
"Getting adequate treatment is crucial for getting better," she said in a press release. "At Children's National, we are implementing policies to make sure that happens for our patients with cystic fibrosis, infusing new research insights into patients' ongoing clinical care."