October 4, 2002 NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A common antibiotic helps most cystic fibrosis patients breathe better and stay out of the hospital, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation said Thursday, citing the results of a new study.
Patients with cystic fibrosis generally lose about 2 percent of their lung capacity a year as mucus clogs their airways, trapping bacteria that cause infection. Eventually, they die of lung failure.
In the study paid for and coordinated by the foundation, researchers targeted chronic pseudomonas infection, one of the ailment's most common and serious complications.
The study found that 87 people who took the antibiotic azithromycin for six months gained lung capacity, while 97 on placebos lost capacity.
And only 14 of the patients taking the antibiotic had to be hospitalized for flare-ups of lung infections, while 29 of those in the comparison group went to the hospital, said Dr. Bruce Marshall, one of the lead investigators.
Patients taking the antibiotic "had more energy, they felt stronger, they could do more," said Dr. Preston W. Campbell III, the foundation's top medical officer.
Dr. Jay Kolls, a lung specialist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, said he will strongly consider azithromycin for his patients.
To "have that number of hospitalizations reduced in that time period is significant," said Kolls, who was not involved in the research.
Cystic fibrosis afflicts about 30,000 people in the United States and a similar number in Europe; it is one of the most common fatal genetic disorders.
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
