Rapid Fire
Nitric Oxide Against Drug-Resistant Pneumonia
- 16 Feb 2026
- 3 min read
A study has shown that high-dose inhaled nitric oxide (300 ppm) significantly reduced drug-resistant pneumonia, offering a possible new strategy against antimicrobial resistance.
- Drug-resistant pneumonia, particularly caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is a serious complication in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), responsible for about one in five hospital pneumonias.
Drug-resistant Pneumonia
- About: It is an inflammatory condition of the lung alveoli caused by bacteria that exhibit resistance to one or more antibiotics typically used for treatment.
- Key Pathogens:
|
Pathogen |
Impact |
|
Streptococcus pneumoniae |
Leading cause of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. |
|
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) |
Frequently implicated in hospital-acquired or healthcare-associated pneumonia. |
|
Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae) |
Common in hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and multidrug-resistant cases. |
- Clinical Implications: Delayed clinical response, prolonged hospitalization, and increased risk of severe outcomes including sepsis or death.
Nitric Oxide
- About: Nitric oxide (NO) is a colorless gas, classified as an oxide of nitrogen. It is a stable free radical with an unpaired electron, making it highly reactive with a short half-life (seconds to minutes). It diffuses readily across cell membranes.
- Endogenous Production: In mammals, NO is synthesized from the amino acid L-arginine by a family of enzymes called nitric oxide synthases (NOS).
- Key Physiological Functions:
|
System |
Functions |
|
Cardiovascular |
Vasodilator → increases blood flow, lowers blood pressure, inhibits platelet aggregation. |
|
Nervous |
Neurotransmitter/neuromodulator → regulates synaptic plasticity and memory formation. |
|
Immune |
Exerts antimicrobial and antitumor activity by disrupting pathogen metabolism. |
- Medical and Therapeutic Relevance: The discovery of NO as the endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) led to the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology.
| Read More: Pneumonia |
