[Treatment of nosocomial pneumopathies caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa with ceftazidime. 50 cases in pulmonary resuscitation]. / Traitement des pneumopathies nosocomiales à Pseudomonas aeruginosa par la ceftazidime. Cinquante observations en réanimation pneumologique.

ABSTRACT

Fifty patients under prolonged mechanical ventilation who developed nosocomial lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa were treated with ceftazidime. This cephalosporin was used alone in 18 cases and combined with another antibiotic (usually an aminoglycoside) in 32 cases. Favourable results were obtained in 40 cases, with regression of the clinical signs and eradication of the organism between the 5th and 10th days of treatment. Eight of the 10 failures occurred in patients with impaired ventilation due to chronic obstructive lung disease. Secondary superinfection was observed in 12 cases. Among the 257 strains of P. aeruginosa isolated in our respiratory intensive care unit over an 18-month period, 88 per cent were sensitive to ceftazidime, and this figure remained stable after the period when ceftazidime was given. These in vitro findings probably account for the remarkable results obtained in infections which up to now had mortality rates of 30 to 60 per cent, depending on the patient's underlaying condition.