Azithromycin and Chronic Respiratory Diseases

Azitromicin je vrlo brzo nakon dolaska u široku kliničku uporabu našao istaknuto mjesto u liječenju različitih bakterijskih infekcija, osobito u respiratornom sustavu. S vremenom je rastao broj istraživanja koja su utvrdila važne imunomodulatorne učinke makrolida, što je znatno proširilo indikacijsko područje azitromicina, makrolida koji u odnosu prema drugim makrolidima ima brojne komparativne prednosti. Za razliku od kratkotrajnog propisivanja azitromicina kao antimikrobnog agensa, njegovo se imunomodulatorno djelovanje očituje tek tijekom dugotrajne, višemjesečne kontinuirane primjene. Ovaj tekst kratak je osvrt na primjenu azitromicina u kroničnim respiratornim bolestima u kojima se djelovanje tog lijeka temelji upravo na njegovim imunomodulatornim učincima.Soon after it was introduced in everyday clinical practice, azithromycin became widely used for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections, especially those affecting the respiratory tract. Over time, a growing body of research found that macrolides exert significant immunomodulatory effects, thus significantly expanding indications for azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic with numerous advantages over the other antibiotics from its class. As opposed to short-term use of azithromycin as an antimicrobial agent, its immunomodulatory effect is presented only after long-term use over a course of several months. This paper briefly addresses the use of azithromycin in patients with chronic respiratory diseases where the effects of the drug are based on its immunomodulatory effects