zithromax and Pleurisy

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)-associated pleuritis is a very rare disease. Here, we describe 2 cases of life-threatening Mycobacterium intracellulare-associated pleuritis in immunocompetent hosts.. A 78-year-old man with sudden onset-onset dyspnea (case 1) and an 80-year-old man with cough, sputum and fever (case 2) presented to our emergency room.. Both the patients were diagnosed with Mycobacterium intracellulare-associated pleuritis.. In case 1, the patient underwent intubation with mechanical ventilation due to hypoxemic respiratory failure. Daily azithromycin, rifampin and ethambutol, and intravenous amikacin 3 times a week was administered. In case 2, the patient received daily azithromycin, rifampin and ethambutol, and intravenous amikacin 3 times a week.. In case 1, after receiving NTM treatment for 14 months, NTM-associated pleuritis was cured, with radiologic improvement. In case 2, however, bronchopleural fistula was developed. Despite tube drainage, air leak continued. The patient refused surgical management and eventually died of respiratory failure.. Pleural effusion arising from NTM lung disease located in the subpleural area should be considered a possible cause of NTM-associated pleuritis. Drainage and a multidrug regimen are required to treat NTM, and surgical treatment should be considered when complications occur.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amikacin; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Infective Agents; Antitubercular Agents; Azithromycin; Ethambutol; Humans; Immunocompromised Host; Male; Mycobacterium avium Complex; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria; Pleurisy; Rifampin; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Anti-interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) autoantibodies has been recognised as an adult-onset immunodeficiency in the past decade in people who originate from Southeast Asia. These patients are susceptible to particular opportunistic infections, especially non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). We present the case of a woman whom originally came from Thailand with disseminated

Topics: Adult; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Asian People; Autoantibodies; Azithromycin; Bacteremia; Disease Progression; Ethambutol; Female; Humans; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; Immunologic Factors; Interferon-gamma; Mycobacterium avium Complex; Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection; Pericarditis; Pleurisy; Pneumonia, Bacterial; Recurrence; Rifampin; Rituximab; Thailand

The effect of four macrolide antibiotics (roxithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, and azithromycin) on the generation of some mediators and cytokines involved in the inflammatory process has been studied both in vivo and in vitro. Rat carrageenin pleurisy was used as a model of acute inflammation, and the macrolides were administered (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg p.o.) 1 h before the carrageenin challenge. Exudate volume and leukocyte accumulation were both dose-dependently reduced by roxithromycin, clarithromycin and erythromycin in either normal or adrenalectomized animals. Furthermore, in normal rats, prostaglandin (PG)E(2), nitrate plus nitrite, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels in pleural exudate were significantly reduced by these macrolides. Roxithromycin appeared more effective than erythromycin and clarithromycin, whereas azithromycin only slightly affected the inflammatory reaction. None of the macrolides were able to modify leukotriene B(4) exudate levels. In vitro experiments have shown that the four macrolides (5-80 microM) reduced in a concentration-dependent manner the production of 6-keto-PGF(1alpha), NO(2)(-), tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interleukin-6 by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated J774 macrophages. In J774 cells, the inhibition of 6-keto-PGF(1alpha) and NO(2)(-) production by roxithromycin and erythromycin was not dependent on direct inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase activity because it appears to be related to the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase protein expression. In conclusion, the present study shows that macrolide antibiotics have anti-inflammatory activity, which likely depends on their ability to prevent the production of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines, and suggest that these agents, particularly roxithromycin, can exert therapeutic effects independently of their antibacterial activity.

Topics: 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha; Adrenalectomy; Anesthesia; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Azithromycin; Carrageenan; Cell Line; Clarithromycin; Cyclooxygenase 2; Cytokines; Dinoprostone; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Erythromycin; Inflammation Mediators; Isoenzymes; Leukotriene B4; Macrophages; Mice; Nitrates; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; Nitrites; Pleurisy; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; Rats; Roxithromycin; Time Factors; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Infections of Rhodococcus equi, a well-known pathogen in animals which causes cavitated pneumonia similar to that caused by mycobacteria, were studied in three HIV-infected patients. This microorganism was isolated in the bronchoalveolar washings of two patients and in the sputum of the third. In two patients, Rh. equi represented the first clinical opportunistic manifestation of HIV disease. One patient died of concomitant Pneumocystis infection. The eradication of the microorganism occurred in two out of three patients. It was found that no isolates were resistant to erythromycin, claritromycin, rifampin, vancomycin, teicoplanin, imipenem, gentamycin or azithromycin (MIC values < or = 0.1 microgram/ml). Moreover, the quinolones (ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin) were found to be less effective, whereas neither the beta-lactam antibiotics nor chloramphenicol were effective therapy for this microrganism. At least two antimicrobial agents should be given contemporaneously to treat these infections for a period of up to several months. Our results suggest that the combinations erythromycin + rifampin or imipenem + teicoplanin are the most effective treatments in Rh. equi infections.

Topics: Actinomycetales Infections; Adult; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Azithromycin; Bacteremia; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Clarithromycin; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Drug Synergism; Drug Therapy, Combination; Erythromycin; Female; Gentamicins; HIV Infections; Humans; Imipenem; Male; Pleurisy; Pneumonia, Bacterial; Rhodococcus equi; Rifampin; Sputum; Teicoplanin; Vancomycin