Tigecycline activity tested against multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and Acinetobacter spp. isolated in US medical centers (2005–2009)

We evaluated the activity of tigecycline against Enterobacteriaceae (9563 isolates) and Acinetobacter spp. (835) with various resistance phenotypes collected from 31 US medical centers in 2005–2009. The isolates were tested for susceptibility by the reference broth microdilution method against tigecycline and various comparators. Among Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp., 6.8% and 15.4% exhibited an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) phenotype, respectively; and 22.2% of Enterobacter spp. strains were ceftazidime-resistant. Tigecycline was active against E. coli [minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC50/90), 0.12/0.25 μg/mL; 100.0% susceptible] independent of ESBL phenotype or resistance to other antimicrobials. Among Klebsiella spp., 97.9% of ESBL-producing Klebsiella spp. and 98.2% of imipenem–non-susceptible strains were susceptible to tigecycline (MIC50/90, 0.5/1 μg/mL for both subsets). Tigecycline was active against Enterobacter spp. (MIC50/90, 0.25/1 μg/mL; 98.4% susceptible), including ceftazidime-resistant strains (MIC50/90, 0.5/2 μg/mL; 97.1% susceptible). Tigecycline inhibited 94.4% of Acinetobacter spp. overall (MIC50/90, 0.5/2 μg/mL) and 86.2% of imipenem–non-susceptible (MIC50/90, 1/4 μg/mL) strains at ≤2 μg/mL. No trend toward decreased tigecycline activity overtime was observed for any of the organisms or resistant subsets during the study period. These results indicate that tigecycline has sustained potent in vitro activity and a broad spectrum against these clinically important Gram-negative pathogens causing infections in US medical centers, including multidrug-resistant organism subsets.