Impact of antibiotic treatment for pulmonary exacerbations on bacterial diversity in cystic fibrosis

• Published in: Journal of cystic fibrosis Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 22 - 28
• Main Authors: Daniels, T.W.V., Rogers, G.B., Stressmann, F.A., van der Gast, C.J., Bruce, K.D., Jones, G.R., Connett, G.J., Legg, J.P., Carroll, M.P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibiotics; Azides; Bacterial diversity; Biodiversity; Cystic Fibrosis - drug therapy; Cystic Fibrosis - microbiology; Disease Progression; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Propidium - analogs & derivatives; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - drug effects; Pulmonary exacerbation; Pulmonary/Respiratory; Relative abundance; Sputum - microbiology; T-RFLP; Young Adult; Antibiotics; Bacterial diversity; T-RFLP; Pulmonary exacerbation; Relative abundance
• ISSN: 1569-1993; 1873-5010; 1873-5010
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcf.2012.05.008

A diverse array of bacterial species is present in the CF airways, in addition to those recognised as clinically important. Here, we investigated the relative impact of antibiotics, used predominantly to target Pseudomonas aeruginosa during acute exacerbations, on other non-pseudomonal species. The relative abundance of viable P. aeruginosa and non-pseudomonal species was determined in sputa from 12 adult CF subjects 21, 14, and 7days prior to antibiotics, day 3 of treatment, the final day of treatment, and 10–14days afterwards, by T-RFLP profiling. Overall, relative P. aeruginosa abundance increased during antibiotic therapy compared to other bacterial species; mean abundance pre-antibiotic 51.0±36.0% increasing to 71.3±30.4% during antibiotic (ANOVA: F1,54=5.16; P<0.027). Further, the number of non-pseudomonal species detected fell; pre-antibiotic 6.0±3.3 decreasing to 3.7±3.3 during treatment (ANOVA: F1,66=5.11; P<0.027). Antibiotic treatment directed at P. aeruginosa has an additional significant impact on non-pseudomonal, co-colonising species.