Study design (if review, criteria of inclusion for studies)
open prospective clinical trial
Participants
26 adult cystic fibrosis patients
Interventions
conventional aminoglycoside plus beta-lactam treatment was compared to monotherapy with oral quinolones: six two-week courses of antipseudomonas treatment were administered with an interval of approximately three months between treatments. In each patient two courses of conventional treatment were followed by two courses of quinolone treatment and then by another two courses of conventional treatment.
Outcome measures
pulmonary function
Main results
The observed improvements in pulmonary function were somewhat higher when the patients received conventional treatments, and in the most seriously affected patients conventional treatment was significantly better than quinolone treatment.
Authors' conclusions
On the basis of these findings it is suggested that quinolone monotherapy cannot replace conventional antipseudomonal chemotherapy in patients with severe pulmonary involvement.