Scientists from the University of Oxford believe that drug-resistant strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa can pass from the intestines to the lungs. The research was published in the journal Nature Communication.
The presence of bacteria has been demonstrated before. Pseudomonas aeruginosa gut is associated with an increased risk of lung infections and death. It was hypothesized that the intestines could be a reservoir for this bacterium, from where it enters the lungs. New studies by scientists from England, Spain and the Netherlands also confirm this assumption.
The study is based on a case study of a patient who was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in Spain and then kept on mechanical ventilator for 39 days. On the 12th day, antibiotic meropenem was prescribed for suspected urinary tract infection.
This antibiotic effectively destroyed susceptible bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but the antibiotic-resistant strains migrated to the patient’s lungs. Genetic analysis confirmed that the bacteria entered the respiratory tract from the intestines. This also proves that no other patients in this hospital were infected with this strain.
If the results of the study are confirmed, the fight against nosocomial infections and pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosawill become more efficient.