Retrospective evaluation of colistin versus tigecycline for the treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii and/or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections

Backgound: Therapeutic options are limited for infections because of Acinetobacter baumannii and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Study aim was to compare the efficacy of colistin to tigecycline for the treatment of these types of infections. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at the Detroit Medical Center. Adult patients with infections because of A baumannii or CRE in 2009 who received >= 2 doses of colistin or tigecycline were studied. Risk factors, outcomes, and costs were analyzed. Results: There were 82 patients with infections because of A baumannii, 12 with CRE, and 12 with A baumannii and CRE coinfection. Seventy-one patients received colistin, 16 received tigecycline, and 19 received both colistin and tigecycline. Seven isolates were nonsusceptible to colistin and 79 to tigecycline. Patients receiving colistin alone or in combination were more likely to die during their hospitalization than patients receiving only tigecycline (P=.002). However, patients receiving colistin had higher severity of acute illness and had notable delays in initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy (P < .001). Conclusion: Compared with patients who received tigecycline alone, patients who received colistin alone or in combination had a higher severity of acute illness indices and delays in initiation of effective therapy. This increased severity of illness contributed to the increased rate of mortality among patients treated with colistin for A baumannii or CRE infections. Copyright (C) 2012 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.