Original Article


Tigecycline combination for ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by extensive drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

Hangyong He, Yali Zheng, Bing Sun, Xiao Tang, Rui Wang, Zhaohui Tong

Abstract

Background: Extensive drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (XDR A. baumannii) has emerged as an important pathogen in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) worldwide. This study determined whether or not combination tigecycline (TGC) treatment improved the short-term outcome of patients with XDR A. baumannii-induced VAP.
Methods: Fifty-eight patients admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) with confirmed XDR A. baumannii VAP between January 2011 and June 2013 were retrospectively studied. Fourteen patients were excluded. The included subjects were classified into two groups depending on treatment regimens with or without TGC (TGC group, n=20; non-TGC group, n=24). Thirty-day mortality rates, and clinical and microbiologic responses were reviewed and compared in detail.
Results: Microbiological eradication was observed in 3 patients (15.0%) in the TGC group and 7 patients (29.2%) in the non-TGC group (P=0.264). The mean time-to-eradication of XDR A. baumannii was 5.3±2.1 versus 7.6±4.0 days (P=0.395). Ten of 20 (50%) patients developed resistance to TGC after initiation of TGC therapy in the TGC group. Clinical cure were achieved in 50.0% of the patients (10/20) in the TGC group and 45.8% of the patients (7/24) in the non-TGC group (P=1.000). No differences existed in the 30-day mortality, length of ICU stay, length of hospital stay (LOS), and length of invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) between the two groups. The occurrence of septic shock was significantly lower in the TGC group (20.0% vs. 54.2%; P=0.030).
Conclusions: TGC combination therapy did not improve the clinical cure and microbiologic eradication in patients with XDR A. baumannii VAP. TGC combination therapy did not decrease all-cause mortality in patients with XDR A. baumannii VAP. TGC combination therapy reduced the incidence of septic shock in patients with XDR A. baumannii VAP, and might decrease the incidence of poly-microbial VAP. TGC combination therapy can only be recommended as an option when other optimized therapeutics, such as colistin, are unavailable.

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