[Treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections in elderly inmates at a nursing home by selective antimicrobial agents based on the sensitivity of the isolated bacteria].

OBJECTIVES

Elderly patients living in nursing homes can easily find themselves unable to carry out their daily activities, once they become ill, even with infectious diseases of a slight to mild degree, and rapid treatment is required to cure them of their malaise. However, treatment is often difficult due to the presence of drug-resistant bacteria. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of the selective use of antimicrobial agents based on a sensitivity test of isolated bacteria.

METHODS

Possible pathogenic bacteria were isolated from cultures of pharyngeal swabs or urine obtained from patients with chronic febrile conditions or urinary tract infections, resistant to antimicrobial treatment. The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated based on release from febrile conditions and improvement of activities of daily living (ADL) accompanied by the disappearance of possible pathogenic bacteria following the use of selective antimicrobial agents.

RESULTS

The outcome of 14 cases with sustaining febrile conditions and 3 cases with urinary tract infections was reviewed. Most of them showed a good response to treatment with remarkable improvement in ADL. In some cases, patients were switched from one antimicrobial agent to another each time new pathogenic bacteria were detected in the culture. A combination of rifampicin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (RFP/ST) was found to be the most convenient and effective treatment in patients with MRSA or drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Levofloxacin (LVFX)-resistant Escherichia coli were detected together with MRSA in our 3 patients with urinary tract infections, corresponding to the frequent use of LVFX in our community.

CONCLUSIONS

Identification of possible pathogenic bacteria and the use of proper antibiotic agents based on a sensitivity test are very effective in the treatment of elderly patients with chronic febrile conditions arising from the presence of drug-resistant bacteria. Careful use of fluoroquinolones is required in patients in whom MRSA is or had once been detected. This is beneficial not only for the elderly patients themselves but is also useful in preventing the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.