Zithromax abstract showing synergy with other antibioctics

[Guest guest]

(and anyone else interested):

Below is a short medical abstract. This one made me especially think

of you since Josh is showing some decreasing effects with Cipro. The

addition of Zithromax may help Cipro " kick some PA butt. "

To help you understand, the three common macrolide antibiotics are:

1. azithromycin (made by Pfizer as Zithromax in the USA)

2. erthyromycin

3. clarithryomycin

Of these three, studies show that azithromycin properties work better

in people with CF than erthyromycin or clarithromycin.

If you're not used to reading medical abstracts, please don't get

discouraged and give up. None of us is born knowing how to read and

understand these things, but trust me -- the more you become familiar

with how a medical abstract is written, the more you know what to

look for and how to interpret it.

It's often easiest to read the " Results " or " Conclusion " at the end

of an absract, then go back and read the abstract. Sometimes though

(as in the abstract below) the writer doesn't divide into neat

scientific sections such as Hypothesis, Study, and Conclusion. And

abstracts are generally written as one long paragraph. An abstract is

basically just a brief overview telling something about an entire,

much more detailed study (i.e., experiment).

But keep practicing and soon you'll be able to blow away the doctors

with how much you know. The more you know the easier you make their

job because they find it easier to discuss things with you.

In the following abstract it might help you to understand that the

study shows that combining a macrolide antibiotic with another

antibiotic gives a greater kill to CF bacteria than using one

antibiotic alone.

In addition to the three macrolides, the other antibiotics mentioned

are:

1. trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (known as Bactrim) and commonly

prescribed to treat Stenotrophomonas maltophilia,

2. ceftazidime (also known as Fortaz),

3. doxycyline (a tetracycline antibiotic).

Kim

Mom to (23 with asthma and cf) and (20 asthma no cf)

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1: Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2002 Apr;46(4):1105-7

Synergistic activities of macrolide antibiotics against Pseudomonas

aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and

Alcaligenes xylosoxidans isolated from patients with cystic fibrosis.

Saiman L, Chen Y, PS, Knirsch C.

Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York

10032, USA. LS5@...

Azithromycin and clarithromycin were paired with other antibiotics to

test synergistic activity against 300 multidrug-resistant pathogens

isolated from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Clarithromycin-

tobramycin was most active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and

inhibited 58% of strains. Azithromycin-trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole,

azithromycin-ceftazidime, and azithromycin-doxycycline or

azithromycin-trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole inhibited 40, 20, and 22%

of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Burkholderia cepacia complex,

and Achromobacter (Alcaligenes) xylosoxidans strains, respectively.

PMID: 11897598