Antibiotics for treating pneumonia caught outside of hospital or care homes in people with sickle cell disease

Martí-Carvajal AJ, Conterno LO

Published Online:

October 7, 2009

Sickle cell disease affects millions of people throughout the world. These people can catch pneumonia more easily due to sickle damage to the spleen. The germs causing pneumonia caught in the community vary across the world. They have different sensitivities and resistance levels which are affected by how antibiotics are prescribed in that area. We searched for randomized controlled trials looking at the different doses of two types of antibiotic treatment (one drug alone and combined drugs) for community-acquired pneumonia. We aimed to work out if these were effective and safe. We were not able to find any trials to include in this review. There should be randomized controlled trials to assess the benefits and harms of different antibiotic treatments for this condition.

Abstract (click to read)

Background:

As a consequence of their condition, people with sickle cell disease are at high risk of developing an acute infection of the pulmonary parenchyma called community-acquired pneumonia. Many different bacteria can cause this infection and antibiotic treatment is generally needed to resolve it. There is no standardized approach to antibiotic therapy and treatment is likely to vary from country to country. Thus, there is a need to identify the efficacy and safety of different antibiotic treatment approaches for people with sickle cell disease suffering from community-acquired pneumonia.

Objectives:

To determine the efficacy and safety of the antibiotic treatment approaches (monotherapy or combined) for people with sickle cell disease suffering from community-acquired pneumonia.

Search strategy:

We searched The Group's Haemoglobinopathies Trials Register (09 March 2009), which comprises references identified from comprehensive electronic database searches and handsearching of relevant journals and abstract books of conference proceedings. We also searched The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Clinical Trials) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (1966 to March 2009), EMBASE (1974 to April 2008), LILACS (1982 to March 2009) and ClinicalTrials.gov.

Selection criteria:

We searched for published or unpublished randomized controlled trials.

Data collection and analysis:

We intended to summarise data by standard Cochrane Collaboration methodologies, but no eligible randomized controlled trials were identified.

Main results:

We were unable to find any randomized controlled trials on antibiotic treatment approaches for community-acquired pneumonia in people with sickle cell disease.

Authors' conclusions:

This update was unable to identify randomized controlled trials on efficacy and safety of the antibiotic treatment approaches for people with sickle cell disease suffering from community-acquired pneumonia. Randomized controlled trials are needed to establish the optimum antibiotic treatment for this condition.

This record should be cited as:

Martí-Carvajal AJ, Conterno LO. Antibiotics for treating community acquired pneumonia in people with sickle cell disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD005598. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005598.pub2

Assessed as up to date:

May 19, 2009

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Primary Review Group:

Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group

Health topics:

Blood disorders > Genetic disorders > Sickle cell disease: antibiotic treatment

Genetic disorders > Sickle cell disease > Antibiotic treatment

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Antibiotics for treating pneumonia caught outside of hospital or care homes in people with sickle cell disease

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