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Friday, 03/23/2012
A project on antimicrobial effects of systemic treatment on tracheal tube MRSA biofilm, leaded by Prof. Antoni Torres, was awarded by The Independent EUROPE ASPIRE 2011 Grant Review Committee
The project was carried out by the PhD researcher Laia Fernández Barat , as part of her doctoral thesis.
On May 2011, Prof. Torres, head of the Respiratory ICU at the Hospital Clínic, received a letter from the Independent EUROPE ASPIRE 2011 Grant Review Committee announcing they decided to award the project Assessment of antimicrobial effects of linezolid versus vancomycin on tracheal tube methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilm in pigs.
This study is the first that evaluates the effect of systemic treatment on tracheal tubes biofilm development in an animal model of ventilator associated pneumonia. The main objectives of the study were to compare the effect of both systemic treatments on biofilm MRSA burden, antibiotics concentration within the endotracheal tubes and biofilm thickness. This study is already concluded and manuscripts have already been sent to scientific journals.
Directed also by Dr. Miquel Ferrer and carried out by PhD researcher Laia Fernández Barat , the current study is connected to a previous one on animals, the objective of which was to evaluate efficacy of Linezolid compared to Vancomycin in the treatment of pneumonia caused by MRSA. Part of this study has already been accepted for publication in the journal Critical Care Medicine.
Europe ASPIRE award is an important grant conceded by Pfizer to the five best projects of 2011 in Europe, based on the antimicrobial effects of linezolid. The ASPIRE Program is part of Pfizer’s commitment to supporting investigators with an interest in advancing knowledge in defined disease areas including antibacterial research.