Colistin and tigecycline susceptibility among multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from ventilator-associated pneumonia

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most important pathogens in intensive care units related to morbidity and mortality, especially in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). In this study, 80.5% of isolates were MDR. The antimicrobial susceptibilities for 12 different antibiotics of MDR A. baumannii isolated from VAP were tested. Among the MDR A. baumannii isolates, resistance rates were found to be 95.5%, 72.7%, 80.3%, 71.2% and 68.2% for ciprofloxacin, cefepime, imipenem, meropenem and cefoperazone/sulbactam, respectively. Netilmicin resistance was detected in 30.3% of the isolates. Resistance rates for colistin and tigecycline were 0% and 25.8%, respectively. It is obvious that new alternative drugs are needed for the treatment of MDR A. baumannii-related VAP owing to high resistance to carbapenems, quinolones, aminoglycosides and cefoperazone/sulbactam. Although colistin appears to be a good choice, adverse reactions and unavailability of colistin limit its wide usage in Turkey. Tigecycline, which will shortly be introduced commercially in Turkey, is very effective against MDR A. baumannii isolates and shows promising results to solve the problem, however resistance rates should be monitored closely.