Cystic Fibrosis Flare-Ups May Be Treated Equally Well at Home

16 Jul, 2010 in Health and Pharmacy News by admin

Cystic Fibrosis Flare-Ups May Be Treated Equally Well at Home

WEDNESDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) — Care at home or in the hospital is equally effective for cystic fibrosis patients recovering from respiratory flare-ups, a recent study finds.

The research as well as found that longer treatment with antibiotics doesn’t appear to offer any additional benefits compared to shorter-term treatment.

Johns Hopkins University researchers analyzed data from more than 1,500 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. They found that respiratory exacerbations were often followed by long-term decline in lung function, regardless of whether patients were given antibiotics while in the hospital or at home.

“Intravenous antibiotic therapy for CF respiratory exacerbations administered in the hospital as well as in the home may be equivalent in terms of long-term [lung function] change as well as interval between courses of antibiotics,” study author Dr. J. Michael Collaco said in a Hopkins news release.

“Furthermore, we found that, based on improvement of [lung function], optimal duration of therapy may be seven to 10 days, as opposed to between 10 as well as 21 days, as is seen in current practice,” he added.

The study was released online ahead of publication in an upcoming print issue of the American Journal of Respiratory as well as Critical Care Medicine.

“Ultimately, given the decline in baseline [lung function] after an exacerbation, preventing exacerbations may be more substantial than the approach used to treat the exacerbation,” Collaco stressed. “Taken together, our findings underscore the CF community’s need for determining an optimal approach to the treatment of pulmonary exacerbations. Large prospective studies are needed to answer these essential questions for CF respiratory management.”

– Robert Preidt