Rifaximin combined with polymyxins: A potential regimen for selective decontamination of multidrug-resistant bacteria in the digestive tract?

• We determined the MICs of rifaximin (RIFAX) against 262 isolates.
• Combinations of RIFAX and polymyxin B (PMB) were investigated by chequerboard assay.
• 100 isolates were resistant to RIFAX.
• Synergy was observed between RIFAX and PMB.
• Potential for selective decontamination of resistant bacteria in the human gut.

Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) using combinations of oral non-absorbable antibiotics has been proposed as a means of preventing multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of rifaximin (RIFAX) were determined against 262 Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial isolates by broth microtitre assay. Rifampicin (RIF) was used as a comparator in the analysis. Synergistic interactions between RIFAX and polymyxin B (PMB) were assessed by using the chequerboard method and calculating the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI). The antimicrobial activities of both RIFAX and RIF were similar with little variation in the overall MIC distributions for Gram-negative non-fermenters and Gram-positive bacteria. However, against Enterobacteriaceae higher MICs (>16 mg/L) were observed for RIFAX than for RIF (50% vs 27%). Amongst the 262 isolates tested, 100 could be considered resistant to RIFAX. Overall, the combination of RIFAX and PMB was more active against all of the isolates tested compared with either drug alone, with reductions of 2–11 doubling dilutions in individual MICs. Potent synergy was observed with the RIFAX + PMB combination using FICI criteria (FICI range 0.02–0.5). The data presented here suggest that combination therapy may be significantly more effective against isolates with RIFAX and/or PMB resistance and could be considered as part of a SDD regimen aimed at reducing enteric carriage of MDR pathogens in colonised and infected patients.