Table 3. Differences between inhaled and oral macrolide antibiotics.

Inhaled antibiotics	Macrolide antibiotics
Advantages	Advantages
High concentrations delivered to airways	Easy to use, low treatment burden and relatively cheap
Lower rate of resistance	Reduce exacerbations
Lower collateral damage	Anti-inflammatory effects
Low systemic absorption
Disadvantages	Disadvantages
Concern over tolerance with nebulised formulation	Gastrointestinal and other side-effects
Deposition erratic	Antibiotic resistance
Time consuming	Non-tuberculous mycobacteria colonisation must be excluded
Rotating regimens	Cardiovascular events/drug interactions (Q-Tc prolongation)
Limited data in patients without Pseudomonas aeruginosa	Long-term efficacy and tolerance