Pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of colistin and polymyxin B: are we there yet?

The polymyxin antibiotics [colistin and polymyxin B (PMB)] are increasingly used as a last-line option for the treatment of infections caused by extensively drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Despite having similar structures and antibacterial activity in vitro, the two clinically available polymyxins have very different pharmacological properties, as colistin (polymyxin E) is intravenously administered to patients in the form of an inactive prodrug colistin methanesulphonate (sodium). This review will discuss recent progress in the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics and toxicity of colistin and PMB, the factors that affect their pharmacological profiles, and the challenges for the effective use of both polymyxins. Strategies are proposed for optimising their clinical utility based upon the recent pharmacological studies in vitro, in animals and patients. In the ‘bad bugs, no drugs’ era, polymyxins are a critically important component of the antibiotic armamentarium against difficult-to-treat Gram-negative ‘superbugs’. Rational approaches to the use of polymyxins must be pursued to increase their effectiveness and to minimise resistance and toxicity

Untargeted metabolomics analysis reveals key pathways responsible for the synergistic killing of colistin and doripenem combination against Acinetobacter baumannii

Combination therapy is deployed for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, as it can rapidly develop resistance to current antibiotics. This is the first study to investigate the synergistic effect of colistin/doripenem combination on the metabolome of A. baumannii. The metabolite levels were measured using LC-MS following treatment with colistin (2 mg/L) or doripenem (25 mg/L) alone, and their combination at 15 min, 1 hr and 4 hr (n = 4). Colistin caused early (15 min and 1 hr) disruption of the bacterial outer membrane and cell wall, as demonstrated by perturbation of glycerophospholipids and fatty acids. Concentrations of peptidoglycan biosynthesis metabolites decreased at 4 hr by doripenem alone, reflecting its mechanism of action. The combination induced significant changes to more key metabolic pathways relative to either monotherapy. Down-regulation of cell wall biosynthesis (via D-sedoheptulose 7-phosphate) and nucleotide metabolism (via D-ribose 5-phosphate) was associated with perturbations in the pentose phosphate pathway induced initially by colistin (15 min and 1 hr) and later by doripenem (4 hr). We discovered that the combination synergistically killed A. baumannii via time-dependent inhibition of different key metabolic pathways. Our study highlights the significant potential of systems pharmacology in elucidating the mechanism of synergy and optimizing antibiotic pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics

Combinatorial pharmacodynamics of polymyxin B and tigecycline against heteroresistant Acinetobacter baumannii

The prevalence of heteroresistant Acinetobacter baumannii is increasing. Infections due to these resistant pathogens pose a global treatment challenge. Here, the pharmacodynamic activities of polymyxin B (PMB) (2–20 mg/L) and tigecycline (0.15–4 mg/L) were evaluated as monotherapy and in combination using a 4 × 4 concentration array against two carbapenem-resistant and polymyxin-heteroresistant A. baumannii isolates. Time Kill Experiments was employed at starting inocula of 106 and 108 CFU/mL over 48 h. Clinically relevant combinations of PMB (2 mg/L) and tigecycline (0.90 mg/L) resulted in greater reductions in the bacterial population compared with polymyxin alone by 8 h (ATCC 19606, −6.38 vs. −3.43 log10 CFU/mL; FADDI AB115, −1.38 vs. 2.08 log10 CFU/mL). At 10× the clinically achievable concentration (PMB 20 mg/L in combination with tigecycline 0.90 mg/L), there was bactericidal activity against FADDI AB115 by 4 h that was sustained until 32 h, and against ATCC 19606 that was sustained for 48 h. These studies show that aggressive polymyxin-based dosing in combination with clinically achievable tigecycline concentrations results in early synergistic activity that is not sustained beyond 8 h, whereas combinations with higher tigecycline concentrations result in sustained bactericidal activity against both isolates at both inocula. These results indicate a need for optimised front-loaded polymyxin-based combination regimens that utilise high polymyxin doses at the onset of treatment to achieve good pharmacodynamic activity whilst minimising adverse events

Polymyxin Resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii: Genetic Mutations and Transcriptomic Changes in Response to Clinically Relevant Dosage Regimens

Polymyxins are often last-line therapeutic agents used to treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant A. baumannii. Recent reports of polymyxin-resistant A. baumannii highlight the urgent need for research into mechanisms of polymyxin resistance. This study employed genomic and transcriptomic analyses to investigate the mechanisms of polymyxin resistance in A. baumannii AB307-0294 using an in vitro dynamic model to mimic four different clinically relevant dosage regimens of polymyxin B and colistin over 96 h. Polymyxin B dosage regimens that achieved peak concentrations above 1 mg/L within 1 h caused significant bacterial killing (~5 log10CFU/mL), while the gradual accumulation of colistin resulted in no bacterial killing. Polymyxin resistance was observed across all dosage regimens; partial reversion to susceptibility was observed in 6 of 8 bacterial samples during drug-free passaging. Stable polymyxin-resistant samples contained a mutation in pmrB. The transcriptomes of stable and non-stable polymyxin-resistant samples were not substantially different and featured altered expression of genes associated with outer membrane structure and biogenesis. These findings were further supported via integrated analysis of previously published transcriptomics data from strain ATCC19606. Our results provide a foundation for understanding the mechanisms of polymyxin resistance following exposure to polymyxins and the need to explore effective combination therapies

Do high-risk medicines alerts influence practice?

Background: Medicine-related adverse events are prevalent, costly and mostly preventable. The High Risk Medicines Working Party (Victoria) developed and distributed three highrisk medicines alerts &ndash; wrong route of administration of oral medicines, subcutaneous insulin and unfractionated heparin &ndash; and accompanying audit tools in 2008 and 2009.Aims: To determine the impact of the three high-risk medicines alerts on Victorian health services; to assess the clinical relevance and utility of the audit tools; to identify barriers to implementing recommendations; and to obtain feedback and suggestions for future alert topics.Method: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken from 6 to 31 July 2009 using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to 90 metropolitan, regional and rural public health services in Victoria and approximately 200 members of the Quality Use of Medicines Network (Victoria).Results: Most of the 90 respondents were pharmacists (53%) and nurses (31%). 53 (59%) respondents reported making changes as a result of receiving the high-risk medicines alerts &ndash; 21 (40%) concerned the wrong route of administration, 12 (23%) subcutaneous insulin and 7 (13%) unfractionated heparin. Barriers to implementation included time constraints, inadequate staff and resources, excessive paperwork and competing priorities. A minority of respondents indicated some alerts were not relevant to small rural services. Suggestions forimproving the audit tools included making them less labour intensive, enabling electronic responses and ensuring their distribution is coordinated with other medicine-related tools.Conclusion: High-risk medicines alerts and the accompanying audit tools facilitated change but there were some barriers to their implementation, such as time and resource constraints. Not all alerts and audit tools were relevant to all health services.<br /

Comparative pharmacodynamics of four different carbapenems in combination with polymyxin B against carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

The objective of this study was to determine the comparative pharmacodynamics of four different carbapenems in combination with polymyxin B (PMB) against carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates using time–kill experiments at two different inocula. Two A. baumannii strains (03-149-1 and N16870) with carbapenem minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 8 to 64 mg/L were investigated in 48-h time–kill experiments using starting inocula of 106 CFU/mL and 108 CFU/mL. Concentration arrays of ertapenem, doripenem, meropenem and imipenem at 0.25×, 0.5×, 1×, 1.5× and 2× published maximum serum concentration (Cmax) values (Cmax concentrations of 12, 21, 48 and 60 mg/L, respectively) were investigated in the presence of 1.5 mg/L PMB. Use of carbapenems without PMB resulted in drastic re-growth. All carbapenem combinations were able to achieve a ≥3 log10 CFU/mL reduction by 4 h against both strains at 106 CFU/mL, whereas maximum reductions against strain 03-149-1 at 108 CFU/mL were 1.0, 3.2, 2.2 and 3.3 log10 CFU/mL for ertapenem, doripenem, meropenem and imipenem, respectively. None of the combinations were capable of reducing 108 CFU/mL of N16870 by ≥2 log10 CFU/mL. Ertapenem combinations consistently displayed the least activity, whereas doripenem, meropenem and imipenem combinations had similar activities that were poorly predicted by carbapenem MICs. As doripenem, meropenem, or imipenem displayed similar pharmacodyanmics in combination, the decision of which carbapenem to use in combination with PMB may be based on toxicodynamic profiles if drastic discordance in MICs is not present

Polymyxin B in combination with doripenem against heteroresistant Acinetobacter baumannii : pharmacodynamics of new dosing strategies

Polymyxin B is being increasingly utilized as a last resort against resistant Gram-negative bacteria. We examined the pharmacodynamics of novel dosing strategies for polymyxin B combinations to maximize efficacy and minimize the emergence of resistance and drug exposure against Acinetobacter baumannii

Paradoxical Effect of Polymyxin B: High Drug Exposure Amplifies Resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii

ABSTRACT Administering polymyxin antibiotics in a traditional fashion may be ineffective against Gram-negative ESKAPE ( Enterococcus faecium , Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Acinetobacter baumannii , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Enterobacter species) pathogens. Here, we explored increasing the dose intensity of polymyxin B against two strains of Acinetobacter baumannii in the hollow-fiber infection model. The following dosage regimens were simulated for polymyxin B ( t 1/2 = 8 h): non-loading dose (1.43 mg/kg of body weight every 12 h [q12h]), loading dose (2.22 mg/kg q12h for 1 dose and then 1.43 mg/kg q12h), front-loading dose (3.33 mg/kg q12h for 1 dose followed by 1.43 mg/kg q12h), burst (5.53 mg/kg for 1 dose), and supraburst (18.4 mg/kg for 1 dose). Against both A. baumannii isolates, a rapid initial decline in the total population was observed within the first 6 h of polymyxin exposure, whereby greater polymyxin B exposure resulted in greater maximal killing of −1.25, −1.43, −2.84, −2.84, and −3.40 log 10 CFU/ml within the first 6 h. Unexpectedly, we observed a paradoxical effect whereby higher polymyxin B exposures dramatically increased resistant subpopulations that grew on agar containing up to 10 mg/liter of polymyxin B over 336 h. High drug exposure also proliferated polymyxin-dependent growth. A cost-benefit pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship between 24-h killing and 336-h resistance was explored. The intersecting point, where the benefit of bacterial killing was equal to the cost of resistance, was an f AUC 0–24 (area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h for the free, unbound fraction of drug) of 38.5 mg · h/liter for polymyxin B. Increasing the dose intensity of polymyxin B resulted in amplification of resistance, highlighting the need to utilize polymyxins as part of a combination against high-bacterial-density A. baumannii infections