Antibiotic resistance: challenges and successes in respiratory infection.

With approximately 50,000 deaths in the USA and EU attributed to antibacterial resistance each year, together with several million days of hospital care [1], the need to address resistance mechanisms and find new targets for novel antibiotics has never been greater. At the annual congresses of the European Respiratory Society and the American College of Chest Physicians, presenters reported advances in understanding of the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and how these may be overcome. The latest clinical trial data on antibiotic treatment for hospital-and community-acquired pneumonia, including the potential for novel nebulized forms of therapy, were also discussed.