Loss of bacterial diversity during antibiotic treatment of intubated patients colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

ABSTRACT: Management of airway infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a serious clinical challenge, but little is known about the microbial ecology of airway infections in intubated patients. We analyzed bacterial diversity in endotracheal aspirates obtained from intubated patients colonized by P. aeruginosa by using 16S rRNA clone libraries and microarrays (PhyloChip) to determine changes in bacterial community compositions during antibiotic treatment. Bacterial 16S rRNA genes were absent from aspirates obtained from patients briefly intubated for elective surgery but were detected by PCR in samples from all patients intubated for longer periods. Sequencing of 16S rRNA clone libraries demonstrated the presence of many orally, nasally, and gastrointestinally associated bacteria, including kn

SUBMITTER: Flanagan JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1933106 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature