Pediatric Pulmonology 46:987–990 (2011) A Survey of the Utilization of Anti-Pseudomonal Beta-Lactam Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Summary. The purpose of this study was to characterize the utilization of anti-pseudomonal beta-lactam antibiotics in the treatment of acute pulmonary exacerbations (APE) among Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF)-accredited care centers. An anonymous national cross-sectional survey of CFF-accredited care centers was performed using an electronic survey tool (Survey-Monkey.com1). One hundred and twenty-one of 261 centers completed the survey (46%) rep-resenting 56 % (14,856/26,740) of patients in the CFF Patient Registry. One hundred and nineteen of 121 (98%) respondents reported using beta-lactams for the treatment of APE. Intermittent dosing regimens constituted 155/167 (93%) reported regimens, while extended infusions were 12/167 (7%). Ceftazidime was the most commonly utilized beta-lactam compris-ing 74/167 (44%) of all infusions (intermittent and extended) of which 70/74 (95%) were inter-mittent infusions. The majority of intermittent ceftazidime regimens (56/70; 80%) were at doses lower than CFF and European guidelines recommended doses. In conclusion, a great majority of respondents use intermittent anti-pseudomonal beta-lactam antibiotics, with over half of respondents utilizing lower than guidelines recommended doses. While this is of concern, it is not known if optimization of dosing strategies according to guidelines recommendations will result in clinical benefit. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2011;46:987–990. 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; antibiotics; pulmonary exacerbations. Funding source: none reported