Azithromycin for the eradication of respiratory tract Ureaplasma infection and prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants: what is the current evidence?

Detection of perinatally acquired Ureaplasma parvum and U. urealyticum in respiratory and gastric secretions, blood or cerebrospinal fluid of preterm infants has been associated with adverse outcomes of prematurity including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), necrotising enterocolitis, sepsis, meningitis and death.1 There is evidence from clinical studies and experimental models that Ureaplasma-mediated inflammation is a causal factor in BPD pathogenesis in the preterm lung.1