DENVER, CO — June 11, 2002 —
A new study indicates that many patients with asthma may have bacterial infections in their lungs, and that treatment with antibiotics can improve their ability to breathe.
Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center report in the June issue of the journal Chest that 31 of 55 chronic, stable asthmatics showed evidence of infection with mycoplasma or chlamydia bacteria.
After six weeks of treatment with the antibiotic clarithromycin, these patients demonstrated clinically significant improvements in their lung function. “We believe that antibiotics may become an important addition to the therapeutic options for some patients with asthma,” said
Richard Martin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at National Jewish and co-author of the paper.
“However, diagnosis of chlamydia or mycoplasma infection requires an invasive procedure.
At the present time only select centers can appropriately perform the necessary tests. We are working on simpler methods to make the diagnosis easier.
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