Cleveland—Combining two antibiotics appears to be a significant step toward defeating antibiotic-resistant infections such as carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE). A study published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy discusses how the components of the antibiotic combination regimen—ceftazidime/avibactam plus aztreonam—work together. A study team led by researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veteran Affairs Medical Center point out that ceftazidime/avibactam is vulnerable to the neutralizing effect of the metallo-beta-lactamases, but aztreonam, which is susceptible to other types of CRE enzymes that can be neutralized by ceftazidime/avibactam, is not. The effectiveness of the combination was not only demonstrated in laboratory models but was also used successfully in two patients with serious infections who had no other alternatives, point out the study authors.

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