Healthcare-associated bacterial infections are of particular
concern in the elderly, as individuals older than 65 years are more
frequently hospitalized than any other population subset and are
commonly exposed to invasive procedures (such as joint prosthesis)
or device insertion. Another major concern is the risk of
infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria. This risk is probably
very high in residents in nursing homes or long-term care facilities
related at least in part to misuse of antimicrobials and to poor
compliance with infection control procedures aimed at avoiding
cross-colonization. Dyar et al. provide a thorough overview of the
challenges of antimicrobial stewardship in long-term care facilities
and important recommendations for minimizing unessential antibiotic
use [2]. Antibiotic use at the end of life is all too common and
is not always of benefit to the individual being treated, considering
quality of life and even survival. Antibiotics are regarded as very
safe and effective agents, so it is difficult to draw the line between
necessary and futile treatment. Leibovici and Paul provide a
framework of thinking to introduce these difficult considerations
of end of life when prescribing antibiotics [3].
Age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
affect several drugs and need to be considered for
optimal dosing and tailored regimens of antimicrobials. As most
adverse drug reactions are dose-dependent or interactiondependent
(and aged patients commonly have polypharmacy),
pharmacological knowledge and skills are needed to avoid iatrogenic
adverse events. We have started to learn how many
pathophysiological variables impair antimicrobial action in critically
ill patients, such as capillary leak, fluid replacement,
application of extracorporeal support modalities, and
augmented renal clearance [4], with the consequent risk of subtherapeutic
concentrations in most cases. This is even more
relevant for critically ill aged or very aged patients, for whom
the dosing balance should also take into account acute kidney
injury or other pathophysiological conditions or comorbidities
that may lead to overexposure and drug toxicity. Corsonello
et al. [5] should be commended for providing in this issue a
thorough appraisal of potentially hazardous drug interactions in
the elderly.
The flow of geriatric patients is sometimes an ‘in–out’ between
long-term residencies and acute-care units, where
different professionals with different competencies take care of
them. The centre of all efforts should remain the aged patient,
with the complexity of medication regimens, colonization by
difficult-to-treat bacteria, the hopes of receiving the best care
without aggressiveness and being surrounded by a familial
environment. In too many cases the holistic vision of a patient
approaching the sunset is lost, flooded by parcelled glances that
may in turn prove useless or even dangerous. Beckett et al.
made a convincing cause for specialized infectious disease care
of the elderly [6]. Collaboration between experts in infectious
diseases, antibiotic policies, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics
and geriatric medicine is necessary for improved care of
the elderly patient. It is no longer acceptable to follow a onesize
fits all frail individuals plan: aged patients require a true
commitment, not only in everyday practice, but also in medical
research tailored to the abilities and outcomes relevant to
different age groups. We all ought to be liable to explore today
what we would expect someone else has done at the time
when we will be older and frail.
Clin Microbiol Inf