Update on antibiotics for infection control in cystic fibrosis

Stephen Kirkby*a, Kimberly Novakb & Karen McCoyca Section of Pulmonary Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43205, USA. b Department of Pharmacy, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43205, USA. c Section of Pulmonary Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43205, USA. † Author for correspondenceCystic fibrosis pulmonary disease is characterized by chronic and recurrent infection, airway inflammation, bronchiectasis and progressive obstructive lung physiology. Advances in the treatment of common airway pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa have led to a marked improvement in overall survival. However, antibiotic treatment options are often limited by multidrug resistance, potential toxicities and treatment burden to individual patients. While appropriate anti-infective therapy reduces bacterial density in the airways and may result in clinical improvement, true eradication of airway infection is seldom achieved except for early-stage infections. This review summarizes current approaches for acute and chronic anti-infective therapy in cystic fibrosis.