Different ways of giving antibiotics to remove <I>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</I> infection in people with CF

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited condition where the airways frequently become blocked with mucus, often associated with respiratory infections. These infections may lead to progressive respiratory failure and death from breathing failure. A germ called Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a frequent cause of infection. We wanted to compare different combinations of inhaled, oral and intravenous antibiotics. There are four trials included in the review. Two trials are still ongoing. We found that when treating early infection, nebulised antibiotics were better than no treatment in eliminating the germ in most people. This was also true for a combination of nebulised and oral antibiotics. The trials had quite a short follow-up period. Therefore, we could not show whether treatment made people with cystic fibrosis feel better or live longer. Further research is needed to see whether removing the germ completely improves the well-being and quality of life in people with cystic fibrosis. There have not yet been satisfactory trials comparing outcomes for people with cystic fibrosis treated with oral or intravenous antibiotics.