Partial antibiotic decontamination.

Partial antibiotic decontamination and reverse isolation were carried out in nine patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation. The aim of this approach was to eradicate the patient's endogenous potentially pathogenic bacteria while preserving the anaerobic flora of the gut, which help to prevent recolonisation. No exogenous infections developed, and only one patient developed an infection associated with endogenous recolonisation. Colonisation resistance seemed normal in patients during partial antibiotic decontamination. This form of decontamination deserves further study in patients with immunodepression.