 The rationale of the trial is based on the favorable results of experimental studies of sepsis by multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and by susceptible Escherichia coli in rabbits where clarithromycin was administered intravenously. Data from these latter studies suggest that administration of clarithromycin extended survival and attenuated systemic inflammatory response. Their major endpoint was successful immunotherapy achieved when clarithromycin was administered on presentation of symptoms of sepsis-induced pulmonary edema; on the contrary, former clinical trials for immunotherapies of sepsis were based on animal studies where the under evolution immunomodulator was administered before bacterial challenge. The efficacy of administration of clarithromycin upon presentation of septic syndrome in animal studies, renders its application promising in the clinical field. 