Clinical Efficacy and Safety of the Combination of Colistin plus Vancomycin for the Treatment of Severe Infections Caused by Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

A potent synergy of a glycopeptide-colistin combination against Acinetobacter baumannii has recently been described. We set out to assess the efficacy and safety of this combination in a retrospective study including episodes of ventilator-associated pneumonia or bacteremia caused by carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii. We compared 29 patients (group I) treated with colistin plus vancomycin with 28 patients treated with colistin alone (group II). Group I received vancomycin (for empirical or targeted therapy) at the onset of colistin administration and both antimicrobials coincided for at least 5 days. Baseline characteristics, clinical cure, microbiological eradication, and mortality were similar in both groups but the rate of acute kidney injury was higher in group I (55.2 vs. 28%; p = 0.04). In critically ill patients with carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii infections, clinical outcomes do not differ in patients treated with colistin plus vancomycin from those receiving colistin without vanconnycin. This combination significantly increases the risk of renal failure. (C) 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel