1. Bactericidal and synergistic activity of double-carbapenem regimen for infections caused by carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae.
- Author
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Oliva, A., Gizzi, F., Mascellino, M.T., Cipolla, A., D'Abramo, A., D'Agostino, C., Trinchieri, V., Russo, G., Tierno, F., Iannetta, M., Mastroianni, C.M., and Vullo, V.
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CARBAPENEMASE , *CARBAPENEMS , *KLEBSIELLA pneumoniae , *COLISTIN , *NEPHROTOXICOLOGY , *DRUG resistance , *THERAPEUTICS - Abstract
Available therapeutic options against carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp) are limited because of the high level of resistance to other antimicrobial classes including polymyxins. The double-carbapenem regimen has been recently considered a possible therapeutic strategy. In the present study, we evaluated the in vitro bactericidal and synergistic activity of a double-carbapenem regimen consisting of ertapenem plus high-dose meropenem in a series of patients with healthcare-associated CR-Kp infections in whom the use of colistin was not indicated because of potential nephrotoxicity and/or resistance. In vitro synergy was evaluated using checkerboard and killing studies. A total of 15 patients were included in the study, with sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock found in two (13.3%), five (33.3%) and one (6.7%) patients, respectively. Overall, the clinical/microbiological response was 12/15 (80%). Synergy was observed in 11/14 (78.6%) isolates using the checkerboard method whereas in killing studies 12/14 (85.7%) and 14/14 (100%) strains were synergistic and bactericidal at 24 h at concentrations of 1 × MIC MEM + 1 × MIC ERT and 2 × MEM + 1 × MIC ERT, respectively, with a significant decrease of log CFU/mL compared with other combinations (p <0.0001). The double-carbapenem regimen showed clinical and in vitro effectiveness in patients with CR-Kp infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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