Table 3 Combination therapy for multidrug-resistant organisms: in vitro and clinical studies
From: The role of carbapenems in initial therapy for serious Gram-negative infections
Author, year | In vitro/clinical study | Setting/organism | Susceptibility | Therapy | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zuravleff et al. (1983) [48] | In vitro study | 33 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa | All resistant to rifampin; 12 resistant to tobramycin alone; one resistant to ticarcillin alone; three resistant to tobramycin + ticarcillin | Ticarcillin, tobramycin, plus rifampin | In vitro efficacy against all 33 isolates |
Yoon et al. (2004) [45] | In vitro study | 8 isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii | All resistant to all commonly used antibiotics | Polymyxin B plus imipenem; polymyxin B plus rifampin; polymyxin B, imipenem, plus rifampin | Double combinations were bactericidal for seven isolates and the triple combination was bactericidal for all eight isolates within 24 hours in vitro |
Ostenson et al. (1977) [47] | Clinical report | Serious infections due to Serratia marcescens | All resistant to polymyxin B and rifampin | Polymyxin B plus rifampin | Clinical and bacteriologic cure in eight out of 12 patients (67%) |
Korvick et al. (1992) [46] | Clinical study | 121 patients with P. aeruginosa bacteremia | All organisms were susceptible to the β-lactam and aminoglycoside administered | Randomized to three drugs (β-lactam, aminoglycoside, and rifampin; n = 58) or two drugs (β-lactam and aminoglycoside; n = 63) | Bacteriologic cure was significantly greater with three drugs (57 patients [98%]) than with two drugs (54 patients [86%]; P = 0.018) |