Colistin dosing without pharmacokinetic data: the relic of a bygone era

Treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia and ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis in the intensive care unit. A national survey of clinicians and pharmacists in Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES

To assess current practices of different healthcare providers for treating extensively drug-resistant (XDR)  Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) infections  in tertiary-care centers in Saudi Arabia. 

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was performed in  tertiary-care centers of Saudi Arabia between March and June 2014. A questionnaire consisting of 3 parts (respondent characteristics; case scenarios on ventilator-associated pneumonia [VAP] and tracheobronchitis [VAT], and antibiotic choices in each scenario) was developed and sent electronically to participants in 34 centers across Saudi Arabia. 

RESULTS

One-hundred and eighty-three respondents completed the survey. Most of the respondents (54.6%) preferred to use colistin-based combination therapy to treat VAP caused by XDR AB, and 62.8% chose to continue treatment for 2 weeks. Most of the participants (80%) chose to treat VAT caused by XDR AB with intravenous antibiotics. A significant percentage of intensive care unit (ICU) fellows (41.3%) and clinical pharmacists (35%) opted for 2 million units (mu) of colistin every 8 hours without a loading dose, whereas 60% of infectious disease consultants, 45.8% of ICU consultants, and 44.4% of infectious disease fellows preferred a 9 mu loading dose followed by 9 mu daily in divided doses. The responses for the scenarios were different among healthcare providers (p less than 0.0001). 

CONCLUSION

Most of the respondents in our survey preferred to use colistin-based combination therapy and intravenous antibiotics to treat VAP and VAT caused by XDR AB. However, colistin dose and duration varied among the healthcare providers.