A study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, examined the effectiveness of combination therapy for adults with infections caused by carbapenem-resistant or carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacteria.
Researchers conducted a clinical trial at six hospitals in Israel, Greece and Italy. They studied adults with bacteraemia, ventilator-associated pneumonia, hospital-acquired pneumonia or urosepsis caused by carbapenem-non-susceptible Gram-negative bacteria. The study participants were randomly assigned to receive intravenous colistin or colistin with meropenem. The study, conducted between Oct. 1, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2016, included 406 patients.
Here are four study findings:
1. Eighty-seven percent of the patients had pneumonia or bacteraemia.
2. Seventy-seven percent of the infections were caused by Acinetobacter baumannii.
3. Researchers found no significant difference between the colistin monotherapy group and the combination therapy group with regard to clinical failure at 14 days after randomization.
4. Combination therapy increased the incidence of diarrhea and decreased the incidence of mild renal failure among patients.