Three-Drug Therapy for Bloodstream Infections from Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae

The combination of colistin, tigecycline, and meropenem was associated with the best survival rate among therapeutic options examined in a retrospective study.

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae are usually resistant to multiple antibiotics. The molecular epidemiology of these organisms has been well studied, but data on drugs used to treat such infections and on patient outcomes are scarce.

At three large hospitals in Italy, investigators retrospectively studied 125 adults with bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, diagnosed between January 2010 and June 2011. All studied isolates were resistant to penicillins, cephalosporins, ertapenem, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, cotrimoxazole, and chloramphenicol; most isolates were susceptible to colistin, tigecycline, and gentamicin.

Antibiograms (received 72–120 hours after BSI onset) showed 60% of the emp…

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)