Gut Microbiome of Elderly Adults with Advanced Dementia

The issue of antimicrobial resistance continues to grow worldwide, and long-term care facilities are significant reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant organisms, in part due to high frequency of antimicrobial use. Patients with advanced dementia are particularly vulnerable to multidrug-resistant organism acquisition and antimicrobial overuse, which has negative consequences for the gut microbiome and can contribute to the selection and propagation of antimicrobial resistance genes. In this study, we examined the impacts of the fluoroquinolone antimicrobial levofloxacin on the gut microbiome of advanced dementia patients and the correlation between abundance of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes.

抗菌药物耐药性问题在全球范围内持续加剧，长期护理机构是抗菌药物耐药菌的重要储存库，这在一定程度上源于该场景下抗菌药物的高频率使用。重度痴呆患者尤其容易获得多重耐药菌，且面临抗菌药物过度使用的风险；此类情况会对肠道微生物组（gut microbiome）造成不良影响，并可能推动抗菌药物耐药基因的筛选与传播。本研究针对氟喹诺酮类抗菌药物左氧氟沙星（levofloxacin）对重度痴呆患者肠道微生物组的影响，以及病原菌丰度与抗菌药物耐药基因之间的相关性展开了分析。