OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ertapenem versus piperacillin/tazobactam in the treatment of community-acquired complicated intraabdominal infections accounting for development of antibiotic resistance in the Dutch setting. METHODS A decision tree was developed to estimate cost-effectiveness of ertapenem versus piperacillin/tazobactam at different time points after introductio...

In vitro synergy testing using levofloxacin (LVX) plus piperacillin/tazobactam (TZP) was performed by Etest and time-kill assay (TKA) for 31 unique fluoroquinolone-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. The Etest method showed synergy for 9/31 (29%) of isolates, while TKA showed synergy with 14/31 (45%) of isolates. When comparing the Etest method and TKA, concordant results for synergy, an...

OBJECTIVES High levels of β-lactamase production can impact treatment with a β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combination. Goals of this study were to: (i) compare the mRNA and protein levels of CTX-M-15- and CTX-M-14-producing Escherichia coli from 18 different STs and 10 different phylotypes; (ii) evaluate the mRNA half-lives and establish a role for chromosomal- and/or plasmid-encoded factors;...

INTRODUCTION It is assumed that a direct relationship exists between the extent of use of any given antibiotic or antibiotic class and the degree of susceptibility or resistance on the part of various bacteria to that antibiotic or class. METHODS Pseudomonas aeruginosa susceptibility rates and utilization of key antipseudomonal antibiotics in a pediatric hospital, reflected as grams/1,000 pat...

OBJECTIVE To find out the frequency and susceptibility pattern of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa in clinical specimens. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Department of Microbiology, Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Rawalpindi, from January to September 2010. METHODOLOGY Routine clini...

BACKGROUND Periodic monitoring of regional or institutional resistance trends of clinically important anaerobic bacteria is recommended, because the resistance of anaerobic pathogens to antimicrobial drugs and inappropriate therapy are associated with poor clinical outcomes. There has been no multicenter study of clinical anaerobic isolates in Korea. We aimed to determine the antimicrobial resi...

OBJECTIVES We investigated the bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of piperacillin/tazobactam against 16 clinical Escherichia coli producing inhibitor-resistant TEM β-lactamases (IRT; 13/16) and complex mutant TEM enzymes (CMT; 3/16). METHODS Bacteriostatic activity was evaluated by three methods (disc diffusion, Vitek2 automated system, MIC determination by a microdilution method) and...

TO THE EDITOR—We appreciate the response of King and Stover [1] to our recent article [2]. The authors bring up the important issue of piperacillin-tazobactam and its association with positive serum galactomannan index assays due to the presence of antigenic epitopes in many branded preparations. In our report, we did not comment on the use of branded or generic piperacillin-tazobactam in our p...

INTRODUCTION Altered pharmacokinetics (PK) in critically ill patients can result in insufficient serum β-lactam concentrations when standard dosages are administered. Previous studies on β-lactam PK have generally excluded the most severely ill patients, or were conducted during the steady-state period of treatment. The aim of our study was to determine whether the first dose of piperacillin-ta...