Short Compared With Standard Duration of Antibiotic Treatment for AECOPD
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2021-01-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common diseases in the world.
Acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) refers to an exaggeration of the symptoms of the disease.
Currently, the 3 Anthonisen criteria appear to be most satisfactory in defining the AECOPD:
The increase in the volume of sputum, the alteration of its appearance which becomes purulent
and The increase in dyspnea. Our recent study, showed that administration of levofloxacin is
superior to placebo in the treatment of AECOPD; it is accompanied by a substantial reduction
in mortality and a significant reduction in the residence time in hospital.The choice of
antibiotic to be used in this situation is challenging to the clinician who must choose
between traditional antibiotics (cyclins, aminopenicillins, cotrimoxazole...) and new
antimicrobial agents. Antibiotic treatment duration was not based on a strong scientific
rationale. Yet at the time of the dramatic emergence of bacterial resistance, reducing the
selection pressure by reducing the exposure to antibiotic should be a major issue. In
addition, the decrease in costs and associated side effects reinforces the interest of short
treatments.
Unfortunately, few studies with a satisfactory methodology are available in the literature.
In fact, we present the rational and the interest in shortening the durations of antibiotic
treatment of AECOPD by levofloxacin in patients admitted to the emergency for exacerbation of
COPD and to study the epidemiology of viral and bacterial AECOPD.