Investigators at Sungkyunkwan University Report Findings in Pneumonia (Clinical Outcomes of Fluoroquinolones Combination Therapy In Patients With Hospital-acquired Pneumonia: a Retrospective Cohort Study Using National Health Insurance Claims …): Lung Diseases and Conditions – Pneumonia

2024 JAN 22 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Business Daily -- Fresh data on Lung Diseases and Conditions - Pneumonia are presented in a new report. According to news reporting from Seoul, South Korea, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Fluoroquinolones are one of the commonly used antibiotics for the initial empiric combination treatment. However, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of fluoroquinolones combination therapy for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP).”

Financial support for this research came from Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Sungkyunkwan University, “This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of fluoroquinolones as part of the empiric combination therapy for HAP using national health insurance claims data in Korea. We compared the clinical outcomes of patients with HAP who received fluoroquinolones combination and those treated with cefepime or piperacillin/tazobactam monotherapy. The primary outcome was hospital mortality, and the secondary outcome was readmission caused by pneumonia as the primary cause of hospitalization within 7 days after discharge from index hospitalization. The association between the combination with fluoroquinolones and outcomes was evaluated with logistic regression analysis. Among the 9,955 patients with HAP administered with cefepime or piperacillin/tazobactam, 4,918 (49%) received fluoroquinolones combination. During hospitalization, 1,059 (11%) patients with HAP died. Compared with the monotherapy group, the fluoroquinolones combination therapy group was associated with a higher mortality risk (adjusted OR, 1.30; 95% CI: 1.02-1.65). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the association remained significant in the non-high-risk HAP group (adjusted OR, 1.30; 95% CI: 1.02-1.66). Meanwhile, the mortality risk was similar between the fluoroquinolones combination therapy group and the monotherapy group of patients with high-risk HAP (adjusted OR, 0.99; 95% CI: 0.35-1.16). Among the patients alive and discharged (n=8,896), 152 (1.7%) were readmitted within 7 days after discharge. The fluoroquinolones combination therapy group was more likely to be readmitted because of pneumonia than the monotherapy group in patients with high-risk HAP (adjusted OR, 1.60; 95% CI: Conclusions: Fluoroquinolones combined with beta-lactams was prescribed in nearly half of patients with low-risk HAP, and it was associated with a higher mortality risk in real-world practice.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “However, it was not associated with hospital mortality even in patients with high-risk HAP.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Clinical Outcomes of Fluoroquinolones Combination Therapy In Patients With Hospital-acquired Pneumonia: a Retrospective Cohort Study Using National Health Insurance Claims Data In Korea. Journal of Thoracic Disease, 2023. Journal of Thoracic Disease can be contacted at: Ame Publishing Company, Flat-Rm C 16F, Kings Wing Plaza 1, No 3 Kwan St, Shatin, Hong Kong 00000, Peoples R China.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Kyeongman Jeon, Sungkyunkwan University, Samsung Medical Center, Dept. of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, 81 Irwon Ro, Seoul 06351, South Korea. Additional authors for this research include Bo-Guen Kim, Danbee Kang, Juhee Cho and Kyung Hoon Min.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.21037/jtd-23-787. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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