Clinical experience with tigecycline in the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

BackgroundTigecycline, with broad in vitro antibacterial activity, has been widely used off-label for nosocomial pneumonia caused by multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB). However, many concerns have been raised about the efficacy of tigecycline treatment as the inconsistent results from previous clinical studies.MethodsThis retrospective study evaluated the outcome of adult patients with monomicrobial MDRAB nosocomial pneumonia treated with tigecycline between 2015 and 2017. Results.A total of 77 patients was eligible for this study, and the overall clinical success and 30-day survival rates were 70.03 and 70.13%, respectively, however, the microbiological eradication rate was relatively low (48%). Multivariate analysis indicated that shorter duration of tigecycline use associated with increased clinical failure, whereas higher CURB65 scores, mechanical ventilation and tigecycline resistant to MDRAB have significant association with 30-day mortality.ConclusionsOur results suggest that tigecycline is one of the potential choices for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by MDRAB, especially with a MIC2mg/L. In addition, a longer duration of tigecycline treatment may be required to insure better clinical outcomes.