Combining Ivacaftor and Intensive Antibiotics Achieves Limited Clearance of Cystic Fibrosis Infections

Authors: S. Durfey, Sudhakar Pipavath, Anna Li, Anh T. Vo, Anina Ratjen, Suzanne Carter, Sarah J. Morgan, Matthew C. Radey, Brenda Grogan, Stephen J. Salipante, Michael J. Welsh, David A. Stoltz, Christopher H. Goss, Edward F. McKone, Pradeep K. Singh - mBio 2021 cited by 64

Recent work shows that people with CF and chronic lung infections generally remain persistently infected after treatment with drugs that target the CF physiological defect (called CFTR modulators). However, changes produced by modulators could increase antibiotic efficacy. We tested the approach of combining modulators and intensive antibiotics in rapid succession and found that while few subjects cleared their infections, combined treatment appeared most effective in subjects with the highest CFTR activity. These findings highlight challenges that remain to improve the health of people with CF.