Study reveals limited treatment options for drug-resistant urinary tract infections
A multi-country analysis of 235 patients shows cure rates under 85% for urinary tract infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with doctors using vastly different treatment approaches. The findings underscore an urgent clinical need: treatment guidelines are lacking for a growing class of drug-resistant infections that hospitals increasingly encounter.
Originaltitel: Treatment, outcomes and characterization of pathogens in urinary tract infections caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacterales: a prospective multicentre study
<p>Objectives: Treatment options for urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacterales are limited. Moreover, evidence to support therapeutic decisions is lacking. This study assessed current treatment strategies and patient and pathogen characteristics in relation to clinical and microbiological outcomes.Methods: Patients with UTI caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacterales were prospectively recruited by investigators at 15 infectious disease hospital departments. Data were collected on patient characteristics, treatments, clinical and microbiological cure 10-14 days after the end of treatment, and relapse within 3 months. Bacterial isolates were subjected to MIC determination and WGS.Results: In total, 235 patients (107 febrile UTI, 128 lower UTI) caused by Escherichia coli (n = 223) and Klebsiella spp. (n = 12) were included. Clinical and microbiological cure rates were 83% and 64% in febrile UTI, and 79% and 65% in lower UTI. Great variability in treatments was observed, especially in oral therapy for febrile UTI. No difference was seen in clinical outcomes with piperacillin/tazobactam (n = 28) compared with carbapenems (n = 41). Pivmecillinam was frequently used in lower UTI (n = 62), and was also associated with high clinical cure rates when used as initial therapy (10/10) or follow-up (7/8) for febrile UTI. Recurrent infection, diabetes mellitus and urogenital disease were associated (P &lt; 0.05) with clinical failure and relapse. In E. coli, ST131 was significantly associated with relapse, and haemolysin with microbiological failure or relapse.Conclusions: Antibiotic treatments were highly variable. Patient and pathogen factors were identified as potential determinants of disease presentation and outcomes and may prove useful to guide individualized treatment and follow-up.</p>