Susceptibility of acinetobacter strains isolated from deployed U.S. military personnel. (73/414)

The susceptibilities of 142 Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex isolates (95 from wounded U.S. soldiers deployed overseas) to 13 antimicrobial agents were determined by broth microdilution. The most active antimicrobial agents (> or =95% of isolates susceptible) were colistin, polymyxin B, and minocycline.  (+info)

Colistin, meropenem and rifampin in a combination therapy for multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii multifocal infection. A case report. (74/414)

A 16 year-old girl underwent a multifocal (lungs, skin, soft tissues) infection due to multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii after a car crash. To treat such a severe disease we used a combination therapy of colistin (2 millions Units twice/day), rifampicin (600 mg/day), meropenem (1 g 3 times a day) after a synergistic activity test was performed (checkerboard method on Mueller-Hinton broth and 5x10(5) cfu/mL inoculum). After 24 days, when a significant clinical improvement was gained, the 3-drugs combination therapy was replaced with i.v. levofloxacin 500 mg twice/day but, after 10 days of quinolones therapy, fever started again and the same multidrug resistant (MDR) A. baumannii was isolated from the skin grafts, central venous catheter tip and bronchial alveolar lavage. A combination therapy with colistin and meropenem was therefore started and definitive defervescence was obtained after 10 days. This therapy was continued for 70 days even if the patient was apyretic because A. baumannii was still present in the skin secretions. After 109 days of hospitalization in our intensive care unit, the patient was transferred to a rehabilitative unit. This case shows how useful is, in selected cases, rediscovering old antibiotic drugs, specially when they are adopted as a combination therapy, and highlights the importance of the clinical microbiological laboratory as it may help clinicians in choosing the best drugs combination.  (+info)

Dry powder inhalation of colistin in cystic fibrosis patients: a single dose pilot study. (75/414)

BACKGROUND: Dry powder inhalation (DPI) may be an alternative to nebulisation of drugs in the treatment of chest infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In a pilot study the feasibility of a colistin dry powder inhaler (prototype Twincer) by a single dose in CF-patients was assessed and compared to nebulised colistin. METHODS: Ten CF-patients, chronically infected with P. aeruginosa, participated in a randomised cross over study. On two visits to the outpatient clinic, patients inhaled colistin sulphomethate as 25 mg dry powder (Twincer) or as 158 mg nebulised solution (Ventstream nebuliser, PortaNeb compressor). Pulmonary function tests were performed before, 5 and 30 min after inhalation. Serum samples were drawn prior to each dose and at 15, 45 min, 1.5; 2.5; 3.5 and 5.5 h after inhalation. RESULTS: The DPI was well tolerated by the patients: no significant reduction in FEV1 was observed. Relative bioavailability of DPI to nebulisation was approx. 140% based on actual dose and approx. 270% based on drug dose label claim. CONCLUSIONS: The colistin DPI (Twincer inhaler) is well tolerated and appreciated by CF-patients. Optimisation with respect to particle size and internal resistance of the inhaler is necessary to attain equivalent pulmonary deposition to liquid nebulisation.  (+info)

The activity of polymyxins against dense populations of Escherichia coli. (76/414)

The activities of polymyxin B sulphate, colistin (polymyxin E) sulphate and their sulphomethyl derivatives were compared by continuous turbidimetric monitoring of dense cultures of an Escherichia coli strain exposed to these agents. Judged by the concentration of antibiotic which caused a rapid fall in opacity of the culture, polymyxin B sulphate and colistin sulphate had similar activities, but the sulphomethyl compounds differed considerably: sulphomyxin sodium induced lysis of the culture at a concentration four times that of the parent compound, whereas colistin sulphomethate sodium induced a delayed fall in opacity consistent with recruitment of activity as the inactive sulphomethyl derivative was broken down to the parent compound. Durign overnight incubation, regrowth of cultures which had initially succumbed to polymyxin action occurred, apparently due to the selection of phenotypically resistant variants from within the population. In this way cultures could easily be adapted to growth in concentrations of antibiotic well above the conventionally-determined minimum inhibitory concentration. The comparative ease of adaptation was in the order: colistin sulphomethate greater than sulphomyxin greater than colistin sulphate greater than polymyxin B sulphate.  (+info)

In vitro pharmacodynamics of colistin against Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. (77/414)

BACKGROUND: Colistin is being increasingly used for treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including Acinetobacter baumannii. METHODS: The in vitro pharmacodynamic properties of colistin (sulphate) were investigated by studying the time-kill kinetics and the post-antibiotic effect (PAE) against multidrug-resistant, including colistin heteroresistant, A. baumannii. Time-kill was studied with four multidrug-resistant clinical isolates at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 64 x MIC. The PAE was examined after 20 min exposure with five clinical isolates, including the four in the time-kill study, plus ATCC 19606. RESULTS: Colistin showed extremely rapid killing in a concentration-dependent manner; but re-growth was observed as early as 3 h and substantial re-growth at 24 h even at concentrations up to 32 x MIC or 64 x MIC for some isolates. Colistin exhibited modest PAE of 1.0, 2.3 and 3.5 h at 16, 32 and 64 x MIC, respectively, against ATCC 19606. Surprisingly, negative PAE (range: -0.8 to -8.15 h) was observed for all of the five clinical isolates. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that monotherapy with colistin methanesulphonate, the parenteral form of colistin, and long dosage intervals (e.g. 24 h) may be problematic for treatment of infections caused by colistin heteroresistant A. baumannii.  (+info)

Efficacy and safety of colistin (colistimethate sodium) for therapy of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii in Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. (78/414)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and safety of colistin (colistimethate sodium) produced by a local pharmaceutical company in Thailand for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. METHODS: Patients hospitalized at Siriraj Hospital between January 2005 and April 2006, who had infections caused by MDR P. aeruginosa or A. baumannii, were enrolled in the study. Colistin (colistimethate sodium) at a dosage of 5 mg/kg/day was given intravenously in two divided doses. Primary outcomes were the clinical response and 30-day mortality; secondary outcomes were microbiological response and adverse events. RESULTS: Ninety-three patients infected with MDR P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii were enrolled. Seventy-eight patients (71 with A. baumannii and seven with P. aeruginosa) received colistin, whereas 15 patients (12 with A. baumannii and three with P. aeruginosa) received other antibiotics. The mean age, gender, underlying conditions and severity of illness of the patients in both groups were not significantly different. In the colistin group, 63 patients (80.8%) had a favorable clinical response and 94.9% had a microbiological response. The overall mortality of the patients in the colistin group was 46.2% and that in the non-colistin group was 80%. Nephrotoxicity was found in 24 patients (30.8%) in the colistin group and 17 of them had predisposing factors contributing to their renal dysfunction. No neurotoxicity was observed among the 78 patients. CONCLUSION: Locally produced colistin appears to be safe and effective for the treatment of infections caused by MDR P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii in Thai adult patients.  (+info)

Colistin-resistant isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae emerging in intensive care unit patients: first report of a multiclonal cluster. (79/414)

OBJECTIVES: Infections due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative pathogens in the ICU have prompted the use of colistin, an antibiotic forgotten for decades. The aim of this retrospective observational study was to record and present the emergence of colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKB) in a Greek ICU. METHODS: In a new university tertiary hospital, the first patients admitted in the ICU were already colonized or infected with MDR pathogens, and this led to frequent colistin use as part of empirical or microbiologically documented therapy. Colistin resistance was defined as MIC >4 mg/L by the Etest method. All CRKB isolated in surveillance cultures or clinical specimens in the ICU during the period 2004-5 were recorded along with patients' characteristics. RESULTS: Eighteen CRKB were isolated from 13 patients over a 16 month period, representing either colonizing or infective isolates. Patients' mean age was 70 years, with a mean APACHE II score at admission of 22. They all had a long hospitalization (median 69 days) and a long administration of colistin (median 27 days). Colistin-resistant isolates were implicated as pathogens in two bacteraemias, a ventilator-associated pneumonia and two soft tissue infections. Repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR identified six distinct clones, and horizontal transmission was also documented. CONCLUSIONS: Selective pressure due to extensive or inadequate colistin use may lead to the emergence of colistin resistance among K. pneumoniae isolates, jeopardizing treatment options in the ICU, potentially increasing morbidity and mortality of critically ill patients and necessitating prudent use of colistin.  (+info)

Induced tolerance to nebulized colistin after severe reaction to the drug. (80/414)

Daily nebulized colistin therapy has been used as maintenance therapy for patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and in treatment protocols aimed at eradicating early P aeruginosa infection. Colistin-induced nephrotoxicity and mild neurotoxic effects have been described but hypersensitivity reactions are rare. However, bronchial constriction has been reported associated with the inhalation of the antibiotic. We report the case of a 63-year-old man who had been diagnosed with bronchiectasis and bronchopleural fistula and who developed severe bronchospasm when using nebulized colistin. A skin prick test (80 mg/mL) with colistin was performed and was negative. An intradermal test was not performed due to its possible irritant effect. As our patient suffered from a tobramycin-resistant P aeruginosa infection, we started a procedure to induce tolerance to 80 mg colistin (8 mg, 16 mg, 24 mg, 32 mg, 40 mg, 80 mg) nebulized in 30-minutes-intervals. No changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 second values were observed and the patient continues on treatment twice daily after the tolerance induction with no new episodes of bronchospasm. We report the first successful procedure to induce tolerance to colistin after escalating doses of inhaled colistin.  (+info)