Synergistic killing by meropenem and colistin combination of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from Chinese patients in an in vitro pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model

•Combination regimen with synergistic effect has become a potential solution to combat carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB).•Combination of meropenem and colistin had a synergistic effect against clinical CRAB isolates from Chinese patients.•The regimen of meropenem (1 g, 3-h infusion) combing with colistin (maintained at 1 mg/L) exerts good effect against CRAB in in vitro model.

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is an important clinical threat. Combination therapy that exerts a synergistic effect has become a potential solution to combat CRAB. However, choosing an optimal combination regimen is challenging. A dynamic in vitro pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model that can simulate the pharmacokinetic profiles of antibiotics provides a powerful tool to compare antibacterial responses to different clinical dosage regimens. In this study, the synergistic effect of the combination of meropenem and colistin was tested in 12 clinical CRAB isolates from Chinese patients using the chequerboard technique. The antibacterial effect was investigated in an in vitro PK/PD diffusion model by simulating different dosage regimens: meropenem monotherapy (0.5 g with 0.5-h infusion or 1 g with 3-h infusion); colistin monotherapy (fixed unbound concentration maintained at 0.25, 0.5 or 1 mg/L); and combination of meropenem and colistin. The chequerboard method showed that the combination of meropenem and colistin had synergistic effects against all 12 isolates, with fractional inhibitory concentration indices (FICIs) of ≤0.5. Moreover, the dynamic in vitro PK/PD model demonstrated that for clinical CRAB isolates with a meropenem MIC of 128 mg/L, the combination (meropenem 1 g with 3-h infusion combined with colistin maintained at 1 mg/L) could achieve 3.8 log10 killing after 24 h, whereas monotherapy was unable to provide such an antibacterial effect. Taken together, these results suggest that the combination of meropenem and colistin might be a promising therapy against CRAB.