IMR Press / FBL / Volume 26 / Issue 12 / DOI: 10.52586/5054
Open Access Review
What is the role of Achromobacter species in patients with cystic fibrosis?
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1 Paediatric Clinic, University Hospital, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy
2 Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milan, Italy
*Correspondence: susannamariaroberta.esposito@unipr.it (Susanna Esposito)
Academic Editor: Graham Pawelec
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2021, 26(12), 1613–1620; https://doi.org/10.52586/5054
Submitted: 7 August 2021 | Revised: 16 September 2021 | Accepted: 29 September 2021 | Published: 30 December 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cystic fibrosis lung disease: from basic research to clinical issues)
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by BRI.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract

In recent years, advances in diagnosis and treatment have significantly modified the short- and long-term prognosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. However, as in the past, the most important health problem that has significantly reduced the quality of life in CF patients is the progressive deterioration of lung structure and function. In recent years, Achromobacter species have emerged with increasing incidence in the respiratory secretions of CF subjects. The significance of this detection remains debated. In this review article, the characteristics of these pathogens, the importance of their presence in CF patients, and possible antibiotic treatment of treatments for colonization and infection are discussed. Literature analysis shows that Achromobacter species, mainly A. xylosoxidans, are pathogens with intrinsic characteristics that favour persistent lung colonization and several virulence factors and secretion systems that significantly interfere with respiratory cell survival. However, although it seems undebatable that Achromobacter species detection is a marker of CF severity, the role of these pathogens as a cause of lung structure and functional deterioration is not definitively established. Nonetheless, there is general agreement about the need for antibiotic therapy to eradicate these pathogens when they are detected in CF patients. Unfortunately, eradication is difficult, and no standard treatment is recommended by scientific societies. New possibilities are potentially offered by some recently developed drugs, such as cefiderocol, but further studies on the dosage, treatment duration and efficacy and safety of this new antibiotic in CF patients of different ages are urgently needed.

Keywords
Achromobacter species
Cefiderocol
Cystic fibrosis
Multidrug-resistant bacteria
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Respiratory exacerbation
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