Clarithromycin as Immunomodulator for the Management of Sepsis

The idea for the application of intravenous clarithromycin as immunomodulatory therapy for the management of sepsis has been evolved on in vitro results showing that concentrations close to 10μg/ml may refrain biosynthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines by inhibiting the activation of the translation factor NF-κB. Intravenously administered clarithromycin has been widely applied in experimental sepsis by one susceptible isolate of Escherichia coli, one multidrug-resistant isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and one pan-resistant isolate of Klebsiella pneumoniae after induction of pyelonephritis by the test isolates. Results of these animal studies revealed that clarithromycin inhibited the evolution of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) acting at the cellular level of blood monocytes and that its effect was expressed when administered after induction of sepsis.

Based on the latter experimental data, one double-blind randomized clinical trail was conducted over the period June 2004-December 2005 in the 4th Department of Internal Medicine, in the 1st Department of Critical Care and in the 2nd Department of Critical Care of the University of Athens. The study enrolled 200 subjects with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock; 100 received placebo and 100 clarithromycin. Statistical analysis of results revealed that clarithromycin effected earlier resolution of signs of sepsis and of VAP accompanied by a) prolongation of survival of the total of patients over the first 16 days of follow-up, b) prolongation of survival of patients with septic shock for 28 days of follow-up, and c) 2.75-fold reduction of the relative risk of death over the first 28 days of follow-up in patients with multiple organ failure.

The proposed clinical trial is based on the extremely beneficial results of clarithromycin in the septic population of patients with VAP creating the following needs: a) to generalize the application of intravenous clarithromycin in the total of admitted septic patients irrespective of the underlying cause of sepsis, and b) to expand the effect of clarithromycin over a greater time period than the first 19 days post start of administration.

Inclusion criteria

• One or more of the following infections: a) primary or secondary bacteremia by Gram-negative bacteria, b) acute pyelonephritis, or c) intrabdominal infection. Only one episode of infection per patient will be enrolled. Both patients with community-acquired and nosocomial infections are eligible for the study.
• The presence of at least two of the following criteria of sepsis according to ACCP/SCCM (8) a) body temperature >38 degreesC or <36 degreesC; b) pulse rate >90/min; c) breath rate >20/min or Pco2<32mmHg; and/or d) leukocytosis (white blood cell count >12,000/μl) or leukopenia (white blood cell count <4,000/μl) or >10% band forms

Exclusion criteria

• Presence of HIV infection
• Intake of corticosteroids at a dose more than or equal to 1mg/kg of equivalent prednisone for more than one month
• Neutropenia as <500 neutrophils/μl
• Selection by the attending physician of a macrolide as empiric antimicrobial therapy for the infection making the patient eligible for the study