Drugs for Gram-Negative Bugs From 2010-2019: A Decade in Review

A literature review spanning January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2019, was conducted using the PubMed and ISI Web of Science databases to determine the breadth of publication activity in the area of gram-negative bacteria antimicrobial therapy. The number of articles was used as a reflection of scholarly activity. First, PubMed was searched using the following Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): antibacterial agents, Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter, and Pseudomonas. A total of 12 643 articles were identified within PubMed, and 77 862 articles were identified within ISI Web of Science that included these terms. Second, these articles were categorized by antibiotic class to identify relative contributions to the literature by drug category. Third, these studies were used to identify key trends in the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections from the past decade. This review highlights advances made in the past 10 years in antibacterial pharmacotherapy and some of the challenges that await the next decade of practice.

Changes in MIC within a global collection of Acinetobacter baumannii collected as part of the Tigecycline Evaluation and Surveillance Trial, 2004 to 2009

BACKGROUND

The Tigecycline Evaluation and Surveillance Trial (T.E.S.T.) began in 2004 to monitor global antimicrobial susceptibility to tigecycline and a range of comparator antimicrobials among gram-positive and gram-negative organisms.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to report changes in MIC for tigecycline and other antimicrobial agents among 10,149 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates collected globally between 2004 and 2009.

METHODS

MICs of 10,149 isolates were determined locally using Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute (CLSI) methodologies. Antimicrobial susceptibility was ascertained according to CLSI interpretive criteria (no interpretive criteria have been approved for tigecycline against Acinetobacter spp).

RESULTS

Increases in resistance were noted for most antimicrobial agents in all regions. Significant (P < 0.05) increases in percentage resistance were reported for all antimicrobial agents globally. The smallest changes in cumulative geometric mean MICs were reported for tigecycline (0.2 mg/L) and cefepime (3.5 mg/L). MIC(90)s were at the top of their testing ranges for most agents against both multidrug-resistant (MDR) and non-MDR isolates; only tigecycline showed little change in MIC(90) between MDR (2 mg/L) and non-MDR (1 mg/L) isolates. Resistance was higher among isolates from the intensive care unit (ICU) compared with non-ICU isolates.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that resistance is increasing among clinical isolates of A baumannii globally. Although resistance to tigecycline has been reported in the treatment of infections caused by A baumannii, it retains in vitro activity against this pathogen.

Preparation, gram-negative antibacterial activity, and hydrolytic stability of novel siderophore-conjugated monocarbam diols

A novel series of monocarbam compounds exhibiting promising antibacterial activity against multidrug resistant Gram-negative microorganisms is reported, along with the synthesis of one such molecule MC-1 (1). Also reported are structure-activity relationships associated with the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of 1 and related analogues in addition to the hydrolytic stability of such compounds and possible implications thereof.

Activity of ACHN-490 tested alone and in combination with other agents against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ACHN-490 was tested alone and in combination with cefepime, doripenem, imipenem, or piperacillin-tazobactam in a synergy time-kill analysis against 25 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains with different resistance phenotypes. Each combination was synergistic against most isolates at 24 h, and antagonism was not observed. Combinations of ACHN-490 with cefepime, doripenem, imipenem, or piperacillin-tazobactam yielded synergies in ≥70% and ≥80% of strains at 6 and 12 h, respectively, and in ≥68% at 24 h.