413291

Combatting carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria: In vitro synergistic potential of ceftazidime-avibactam and aztreonam

Article

Last updated: 04 May 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Antimicrobial resistance

Abstract

Background: Metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)-producing Gram-negative bacteria, particularly those co-expressing serine β-lactamases, pose a major global health threat due to limited treatment options. In Egypt, blaNDM-1 and blaOXA-48 are prevalent in clinical settings. While ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA) is the only available β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor (BL/BLI) combination, its limited efficacy against locally prevalent carbapenem-resistant isolates necessitates alternative strategies. Aim: To evaluate the activity of the CZA-aztreonam (ATM) combination against carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CR-GN) isolates, particularly MBL producers, either alone or co-producing serine carbapenemases. Methods: Thirty-four non-duplicate CR-GN isolates were collected from hospitalized patients in Egypt. Carbapenemase genes were identified via multiplex PCR, and Susceptibility to CZA and ATM combination was assessed using the CLSI-endorsed broth disc elution method. Fisher's exact test was used for statistical comparisons. Results: Klebsiella pneumoniae (52.9%) was the most common isolate, followed by Acinetobacter spp. (29.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) (11.8%), E. coli and Proteus spp. (2.9% each). The blaNDM gene was detected in 91.2% of isolates, blaOXA-48 in 64.7%, with 52.9% co-harboring both. Overall, 76.5% of isolates were susceptible to the CZA-ATM combination, including 69.2% of CZA-resistant isolates. Among CZA-resistant isolates, susceptibility to CZA+ATM was higher among Enterobacterales (82.4%), compared to Acinetobacter spp. (50%) and P. aeruginosa (0%). Conclusions: The ATM-CZA combination demonstrates promising in vitro efficacy against MBL-producing Enterobacterales but shows limited activity against P. aeruginosa and Acinetobacter spp. Key limitations include the small sample size and the study's in vitro design. Further clinical studies and resistance monitoring are necessary to guide treatment decisions and optimize therapeutic strategies.

DOI

10.21608/mid.2025.355438.2482

Keywords

aztreonam, ceftazidime-avibactam, Disc elution method, Gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Authors

First Name

Hagar

Last Name

Mowafy

MiddleName

Lotfy

Affiliation

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt

Email

hagarmowafy@kasralainy.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

0000-0003-3837-5978

First Name

Sabrin

Last Name

El-kashef

MiddleName

Mohamed Mohamed

Affiliation

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt

Email

dr_sabrina_609@yahoo.com

City

Giza

Orcid

0000-0002-0661-878X

First Name

Nahla

Last Name

Sahloul

MiddleName

Yassin

Affiliation

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt

Email

nahlasahlol@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

6

Article Issue

2

Related Issue

55370

Issue Date

2025-05-01

Receive Date

2025-01-25

Publish Date

2025-05-01

Page Start

739

Page End

751

Print ISSN

2682-4132

Online ISSN

2682-4140

Link

https://mid.journals.ekb.eg/article_413291.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=413291

Order

413,291

Type

Original Article

Type Code

1,157

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Microbes and Infectious Diseases

Publication Link

https://mid.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Combatting carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria: In vitro synergistic potential of ceftazidime-avibactam and aztreonam

Details

Type

Article

Created At

04 May 2025