Impact of Revised Broad-Spectrum Cephalosporin Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute Breakpoints on Susceptibility in Enterobacteriaceae Producing AmpC β-Lactamase

Comparison of Ceftriaxone and Antipseudomonal β-Lactam Antibiotics Utilized for Potential AmpC β-Lactamase-Producing Organisms

Background: Induction of antibiotic resistance is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in AmpC β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae. The use of ceftriaxone is controversial for treatment of these organisms due to concerns for inducible resistance. This study was designed to compare treatment failure rates between ceftriaxone and antipseudomonal β-lactam antibiotics when used as definitive therapy for organisms most commonly associated with chromosomal AmpC β-lactamase production. Methods: A retrospective, single-center cohort study was performed enrolling patients hospitalized with monomicrobial Enterobacter, Citrobacter, or Serratia spp. infections. The primary objective compared proportion of treatment failure between groups. All patients received either ceftriaxone or an antipseudomonal β-lactam alone within 24 hours of culture finalization, and with a duration of at least 72 hours for definitive treatment. Treatment failure was defined as either clinical failure (abnormal white blood cell count or temperature on day 7 or 14 post-antibiotics) or microbiologic failure (regrowth of the same organism at same site within 14 or 21 days). Results: Of 192 total patients, treatment failure was observed in 24/71 patients (34%) receiving ceftriaxone and in 42/121 patients (35%) receiving antipseudomonal β-lactam (P = .98). No difference was observed between clinical or microbiologic failure rates between groups. The ceftriaxone group had significantly more patients undergoing treatment for urinary tract infections (51% vs 17%, P < .001), but treatment failure rates remained similar between groups when comparing infections of all other sources. Conclusion: Ceftriaxone has comparable treatment failure rates to antipseudomonal β-lactams for susceptible Enterobacteriaceae infections and may be considered as a therapeutic option. Further, prospective research is needed to validate optimal dosing and application in all sites of infection.

Treatment of Infections Caused by Extended-Spectrum-Beta-Lactamase-, AmpC-, and Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae

Therapy of invasive infections due to multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (MDR-E) is challenging, and some of the few active drugs are not available in many countries. For extended-spectrum β-lactamase and AmpC producers, carbapenems are the drugs of choice, but alternatives are needed because the rate of carbapenem resistance is rising. Potential active drugs include classic and newer β-lactam-β-lactamase inhibitor combinations, cephamycins, temocillin, aminoglycosides, tigecycline, fosfomycin, and, rarely, fluoroquinolones or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. These drugs might be considered in some specific situations. AmpC producers are resistant to cephamycins, but cefepime is an option. In the case of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), only some "second-line" drugs, such as polymyxins, tigecycline, aminoglycosides, and fosfomycin, may be active; double carbapenems can also be considered in specific situations. Combination therapy is associated with better outcomes for high-risk patients, such as those in septic shock or with pneumonia. Ceftazidime-avibactam was recently approved and is active against KPC and OXA-48 producers; the available experience is scarce but promising, although development of resistance is a concern. New drugs active against some CPE isolates are in different stages of development, including meropenem-vaborbactam, imipenem-relebactam, plazomicin, cefiderocol, eravacycline, and aztreonam-avibactam. Overall, therapy of MDR-E infection must be individualized according to the susceptibility profile, type, and severity of infection and the features of the patient.

Impact of CLSI and EUCAST Cefepime breakpoint changes on the susceptibility reporting for Enterobacteriaceae

OBJECTIVE

We analyzed the effects of different cefepime MIC breakpoints on Enterobacteriaceae cefepime susceptibility and the presence of AmpC and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes within the cefepime MIC interpretative categories.

METHODS

Using Enterobacteriaceae susceptibility data from 2013 comparisons of MIC breakpoints were performed using Pearson's chi-squared test. Molecular testing on a subset of isolates was done.

RESULTS

Among 3784 non-duplicate clinical isolates, cefepime susceptibility decreased from 97.6% to 96.1% to 93.7% for CLSI 2013, CLSI 2014, and EUCAST 2011, respectively. In ceftriaxone non-susceptible isolates, cefepime susceptibility decreased from 79% to 66% (P<0.0001) using CLSI 2013 and 2014, respectively, which was greater and statistically significant for Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. but not for Enterobacter spp. (P=0.06). Isolates with MIC ≤1μg/mL more often harbored AmpC (77%) than ESBL (18%) genes.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower cefepime MIC breakpoints decrease cefepime susceptibility for isolates harboring ESBLs, while sparing the majority of those with AmpCs.