Suppression of postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome with clarithromycin following lung cancer surgery

We examined whether clarithromycin (CAM), a 14-membered macrolide, can control the postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome that occurs following lung cancer surgery. In the control group (n = 16), prophylactic antibiotics (flomoxef) were administered for 4-7 days following surgery. In the CAM group (n = 10), 400 mg/day of CAM were administered orally for 14 days prior to surgery and for 7 days following surgery, in addition to the postoperative administration of flomoxef. The incidence and duration of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome in the CAM group (30%, 0.3 days) were significantly lower than those in the control group (81%, 1.6 days). There were no significant differences between the control and CAM groups in both the amount and frequency of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs following surgery. In conclusion, our study suggests that CAM may suppress the postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome in lung cancer patients.