Figure 1

Pathogenesis and routine antibiotic therapy for urinary tract infections versus ventilator-associated pneumonia and tracheobronchitis. (A) The pathogenesis of `ascending’ urinary tract infection due to cystitis or pyelonephritis or both, which are currently treated with antibiotics as a `standard of care’. (B) The pathogenesis of `descending’, primarily `one-way’ respiratory tract infection manifests as ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis or pneumonia, for which we would recommend treatment with intravenous or aerosolized antibiotic therapy or both. Reprinted with permission from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins [12].