Aztreonam Aerosol to Treat Cystic Fibrosis Nasal Disease

Brief description: This study is designed as a masked, two center, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of nasal and oral inhalation of 75 mg aztreonam in subjects with CF and lung infection due to PA. The study will involve two sites: Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center (VCU) and Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS). Potential subjects will be identified in each site's CF clinic.

Detailed description: This study is designed to explore the efficacy and safety of nasal aztreonam administered using the Pari Sinus Nebulizer combined with oral Cayston aerosol therapy compared to placebo on clinical and laboratory endpoints such as risk of antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), time to pulmonary infection exacerbation, nasal quality of life, pulmonary function, nasal and lower airway cultures, and properties of mucus. P. aeruginosa (PA) is a primary cause of lung infections in persons with cystic fibrosis (CF) (1). Over the past decade, studies have shown that aerosolized antibiotics can reduce lower respiratory bacterial load, decrease exacerbations of pulmonary disease, and in many patients improve pulmonary function. Cayston (aztreonam) oral aerosol using the PARI Altera Nebulizer System was approved by the FDA in February 2010 for CF patients 7 years of age or older with PA (2). In 2011, 35.8% or patients in the National CF Patient Registry used Cayston for treatment (3). Bacterial cultures suggest that the upper airways and lower airways of CF patients are cross-infected by PA and that the paranasal sinuses can act as a bacterial reservoir (4). There is improved post-transplanation patient survival for recipients that undergo sinus surgery and daily nasal washes to reduce bacterial load (2). Routine CF care does not generally include upper airway assessment. There are no published studies evaluating the effect of aerosol antibiotics to treat nasal and sinus infections in CF in combination with oral inhaled aerosol therapy to treat the lower airway disease. However Mainz and colleagues published a case report that suggested that sinonasal administration of tobramycin using the Pari Sinus nebulizer (Pari Corp, Starnberg, Germany) delayed PA lower respiratory infection in a 12 year-old with CF who had chronic mucopurulent rhinosinusitis (5) and studies in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease suggest that treating upper airways can also improve coexistent lower airway disease.

date/time interval

  • January 1, 2017 - September 19, 2019