In vitro activity of ceftaroline, ceftazidime-avibactam, and comparators against Gram-positive and -negative organisms in China: the 2018 results from the ATLAS program

Background Data on antibiotic resistance is essential to adapt treatment strategies against the rapidly changing reality of antimicrobial resistance. Objective To study the in vitro activity of ceftaroline, ceftazidime-avibactam, and comparators against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria collected from China in the year 2018. Methods A total of 2301 clinical isolates were collected from 17 medical center laboratories in China, which participated in the ATLAS program in 2018. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined by the broth microdilution method at a central laboratory. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints were used to interpret the results except for tigecycline, for which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) breakpoint were used. Results The susceptibility rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP), and beta-hemolytic streptococcus to ceftaroline were 83.9%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. Escherichia coli, imipenem-susceptible (IMP-S) Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, IMP-S Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus mirabilis, Morganella morganii, Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa had high susceptibility rates to ceftazidime-avibactam (95.8%, 100%, 97.7%, 94.5%, 100%, 90.2%, 96.0%, 97.5% and 90.7%, respectively). However, imipenem-resistant Escherichia coli and imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa demonstrated low susceptibility to ceftazidime-avibactam (33.3% and 75.8%, respectively). Against MRSA, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), S. pneumoniae and beta-hemolytic streptococci, the susceptibility rates of tigecycline were 93.5%, 99.2%, 100% and 100%, respectively. Levofloxacin also showed high in vitro activity against S. pneumoniae and beta-hemolytic streptococci with a susceptibility rate of 100% and 98.4%. The susceptibility rate of E. faecalis to ampicillin was 100%. Among Gram-negative isolates, tigecycline and colistin showed good activity against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, imipenem-resistant E. cloacae, C. freundii and A. baumannii (susceptibility rates and intermediate susceptibility rates of 99.3% and 96.8%, 95.4% and 94.5%, 100% and 87.5%, 96.4% and 89.3%, MIC90 of 2 mg/L and 97.4%, respectively). E. coli and E. cloacae had high susceptibility rates to imipenem and meropenem (93.0% and 92.8%, 89.8% and 92.1%, respectively). M. morganii and P. mirabilis demonstrated meropenem and piperacillin-tazobactam susceptibility rates of 96.0% and 94.0%, 94.1% and 92.2%, respectively. Conclusion Ceftaroline showed good activity among tested antimicrobial agents against Gram-positive species, while ceftazidime-avibactam had good activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus mirabilis, Morganella morganii, Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa excluding carbapenem-resistant isolates.