Eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis

Eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients

“…We do not share the opinion of EBER et al [2] that ''true eradication'' of P. aeruginosa is not proven in our study. Knowing that throat/sputum cultures might be false-negative, we typed sequential P. aeruginosa isolates from CF patients and demonstrated that the majority of P. aeruginosa strains, isolated after eradication therapy and a period with negative throat/ sputum cultures, were indeed genotypically different from the initial strains.…”

“…This situation is not likely to change by comparing small studies employing different methodologies in different settings, particularly our study [1] with that of EBER et al [2]. Clearly, larger studies have to be undertaken to provide a better basis for a consensus in this context.…”

“…Finally, we appreciate the thoughtful comments of EBER et al [2] and hope that this will encourage other cystic fibrosis centre directors to implement early eradication therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients. …”

“…The suggestion of EBER et al [2] to use bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples for assessing eradication will certainly not be feasible for many CF centres in the world once this therapeutic strategy is applied more frequently.…”