Surveyed Physicians Report That Emergence of Drug-Resistant Pathogens in Pneumonia is Driving Shifts and Changes in Treatment and Prescribing Practices

BioTrends Research Group and AMR in their TreatmentTrends^®: Pneumonia (U.S.) report find that for the management of nosocomial pneumonia (NP), the most commonly cited change in treatment practices of surveyed physicians in the past five years has been adapting and responding to the increasing incidence of drug-resistant pneumonia. Such changes include evidence-based prescribing, drug-susceptibility testing, consistent de-escalation of therapy, and increased use of carbapenems, colistin, and Pfizer’s Zyvox (linezolid) and Tygacil (tigecycline). Buy Glucophage (Metformin Bp) pills online without prescription Furthermore, the prescribing of combination therapy is dominant in the management of pneumonia in the inpatient setting with approximately 80 percent of surveyed physicians indicating a preference for combination therapies for the empiric treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CABP) and NP.

“Broad-spectrum therapies with both Gram-negative and MRSA coverage, such as Forest/AstraZeneca/Dainippon Sumitomo’s Teflaro (ceftaroline), can offer the potential of a single monotherapy for the treatment of pneumonia, especially CABP.”

“The use of combination therapy to manage pneumonia is routine as physicians seek to expand spectrum activity and target multiple pathogens (e.g., MRSA and Gram-negative pathogens) commonly associated in NP or to attack a refractory pathogen, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa” said Associate Therapeutic Class Director of Infectious Diseases Brenda Perez-Cheeks, Ph.D. “Broad-spectrum therapies with both Gram-negative and MRSA coverage, such as Forest/AstraZeneca/Dainippon Sumitomo’s Teflaro (ceftaroline), can offer the potential of a single monotherapy for the treatment of pneumonia, especially CABP.”
Although proven efficacy in the treatment of pneumonia is an important drug attribute to surveyed physicians, the majority are comfortable with off-label prescribing for the management of NP, reporting that in vitro data demonstrating appropriate pathogen coverage and pharmacokinetic data, including tissue penetration, is sufficient to support their prescribing of drugs for the treatment of NP. In fact, nearly one-quarter of surveyed physicians indicate prescribing ceftaroline for CABP due to MRSA, and about 10 percent have used the drug for NP in the past 12 months.
Also, the potential to lower the risk of systemic toxicity and to target delivery of antibiotics directly to lung tissues are the leading reasons surveyed physicians are treating NP patients with inhaled antibiotic therapy, estimating 1 in every 12 patients are treated using this method of drug delivery.
About TreatmentTrends
TreatmentTrends: Pneumonia (U.S.), which includes research with 50 infectious diseases specialists and 51 critical care/internists physicians, analyzes the usage and uptake of antibiotics for the treatment of patients diagnosed with CABP and NP, including hospital-acquired pneumonia, healthcare-associated pneumonia, and ventilator-associated pneumonia in the hospital setting.
About BioTrends Research Group
BioTrends Research Group provides syndicated and custom primary market research to pharmaceutical manufacturers competing in clinically evolving, specialty pharmaceutical markets.
About Arlington Medical Resources
AMR  serves the market intelligence needs of the pharmaceutical and diagnostic imaging industries. Research includes clinical inpatient and hospital databases that directly link anti-infective drugs with indication/procedure, formulary and stocking status tracking studies, drug purchasing audits and diagnostic imaging procedure volume/contrast media usage audits. AMR is a Decision Resources Group company.
About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions.