Community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections: clinical experience with beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitors.

Once universally susceptible to aminopenicillins and cephalosporins, an increasing percentage of the common respiratory pathogens that cause community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB) are now resistant to these agents and exhibit cross-resistance to other commonly used antibiotics. In an era of multidrug resistance, guidelines for the management of both CAP and AECB can help to guide appropriate antibiotic prescribing, encourage the rational use of antibiotics, which will help to limit the emergence of resistance, and conserve the use of new antimicrobial agents for more serious infections. Central to all current management guidelines is risk assessment, which includes an appreciation of local antibiotic resistance patterns. beta-Lactam antibiotics are still considered among the drugs of choice for the treatment of CAP and AECB, although their use can be compromised by high rates of resistance. The beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations, such as ampicillin/sulbactam, provide a means of overcoming such resistance and represent a suitable alternative.