The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
Volume 29, Issue 5 , Pages 531-537 , May 2010

Azithromycin is associated with increased survival in lung transplant recipients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome

  • Raksha Jain, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Raksha Jain, MD, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Campus Box 8052, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110. Telephone: 314-362-8920. Fax: 314-362-8987
    • ,
  • Ramsey R. Hachem, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • Matthew R. Morrell, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • Elbert P. Trulock, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • Murali M. Chakinala, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • Roger D. Yusen, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • Howard J. Huang, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • Thalachallour Mohanakumar, BVSc, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • G. Alexander Patterson, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
    • ,
  • Michael J. Walter, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

References 

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  2. Christie JD, Carby M, Bag R, et al. Registry of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation: twenty-fifth official adult lung and heart/lung transplantation report—2008. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2008;27:957–969
  3. Williams TJ, Verleden GM. Azithromycin: a plea for multicenter randomized studies in lung transplantation. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;172:657–659
  4. Fujii T, Kadota J, Kawakami K, et al. Long term effect of erythromycin therapy in patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Thorax. 1995;50:1246–1252
  5. Kudoh S, Azuma A, Yamamoto M, et al. Improvement of survival in patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis treated with low-dose erythromycin. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1998;157:1829–1832
  6. Jaffe A, Francis J, Rosenthal M, et al. Long-term azithromycin may improve lung function in children with cystic fibrosis. Lancet. 1998;351:420
  7. Gerhardt SG, McDyer JF, Girgis RE, et al. Maintenance azithromycin therapy for bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome: results of a pilot study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2003;168:121–125
  8. Verleden GM, Dupont LJ. Azithromycin therapy for patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after lung transplantation. Transplantation. 2004;77:1465–1467
  9. Verleden GM, Vanaudenaerde BM, Dupont LJ, et al. Azithromycin reduces airway neutrophilia and interleukin-8 in patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006;174:566–570
  10. Yates B, Murphy DM, Forrest IA, et al. Azithromycin reverses airflow obstruction in established bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;172:772–775
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  13. Khalifah AP, Hachem RR, Chakinala MM, et al. Respiratory viral infections are a distinct risk for bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and death. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004;170:181–187
  14. Khalifah AP, Hachem RR, Chakinala MM, et al. Minimal acute rejection after lung transplantation: a risk for bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. Am J Transplant. 2005;5:2022–2030
  15. Hachem RR, Khalifah AP, Chakinala MM, et al. The significance of a single episode of minimal acute rejection after lung transplantation. Transplantation. 2005;80:1406–1413
  16. Mikols CL, Yan L, Norris JY, et al. IL-12 p80 is an innate epithelial cell effector that mediates chronic allograft dysfunction. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006;174:461–470
  17. Yousem SA, Berry GJ, Cagle PT, et al. Revision of the 1990 working formulation for the classification of pulmonary allograft rejection. J Heart Lung Transplant. 1996;15:1–15
  18. Estenne M, Maurer JR, Boehler A, et al. Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome 2001: an update of the diagnostic criteria. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2002;21:297–310
  19. Christie JD, Carby M, Bag R, et al. Report of the ISHLT working group on primary lung graft dysfunction (Part II: Definition. A consensus statement of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation). J Heart Lung Transplant. 2005;24:1454–1459
  20. Nathan SD, Ross DJ, Belman MJ, et al. Bronchiolitis obliterans in single-lung transplant recipients. Chest. 1995;107:967–972
  21. Lama VN, Murray S, Lonigro RJ, et al. Course of FEV(1) after onset of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome in lung transplant recipients. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2007;175:1192–1198
  22. DiGiovine B, Lynch JP, Martinez FJ, et al. Bronchoalveolar lavage neutrophilia is associated with obliterative bronchiolitis after lung transplantation: role of IL-8. J Immunol. 1996;157:4194–4202
  23. Zheng L, Walters EH, Ward C, et al. Airway neutrophilia in stable and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome patients following lung transplantation. Thorax. 2000;55:53–59
  24. Riise GC, Andersson BA, Kjellstrom C, et al. Persistent high BAL fluid granulocyte activation marker levels as early indicators of bronchiolitis obliterans after lung transplant. Eur Respir J. 1999;14:1123–1130
  25. Elssner A, Jaumann F, Dobmann S, et al. Elevated levels of interleukin-8 and transforming growth factor-beta in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome: proinflammatory role of bronchial epithelial cells. Transplantation. 2000;70:362–367
  26. Yamada T, Fujieda S, Mori S, et al. Macrolide treatment decreased the size of nasal polyps and IL-8 levels in nasal lavage. Am J Rhinol. 2000;14:143–148
  27. Basyigit I, Yildiz F, Ozkara SK, et al. The effect of clarithromycin on inflammatory markers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: preliminary data. Ann Pharmacother. 2004;38:1400–1405
  28. Tateda K, Ishii Y, Matsumoto T, et al. Direct evidence for antipseudomonal activity of macrolides: exposure-dependent bactericidal activity and inhibition of protein synthesis by erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1996;40:2271–2275
  29. Page RL, Ruscin JM, Fish D, et al. Possible interaction between intravenous azithromycin and oral cyclosporine. Pharmacotherapy. 2001;21:1436–1443
  30. Palmer SM, Miralles AP, Howell DN, et al. Gastroesophageal reflux as a reversible cause of allograft dysfunction after lung transplantation. Chest. 2000;118:1214–1217
  31. Cantu E, Appel JZ, Hartwig MG, et al. J. Maxwell Chamberlain Memorial Paper Early fundoplication prevents chronic allograft dysfunction in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Ann Thorac Surg. 2004;78:1142–1151
  32. Davis RD, Lau CL, Eubanks S, et al. Improved lung allograft function after fundoplication in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease undergoing lung transplantation. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2003;125:533–542

PII: S1053-2498(09)01512-5

doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2009.12.003

The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
Volume 29, Issue 5 , Pages 531-537 , May 2010

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