In vitro activity of tigecycline and comparators against a European compilation of anaerobes collected as part of the Tigecycline Evaluation and Surveillance Trial (TEST)

The Tigecycline Evaluation and Surveillance Trial (TEST) is a global surveillance study designed to monitor the in vitro activity of the broad-spectrum antimicrobial tigecycline against nosocomial- and community-acquired pathogens. In this study the in vitro activity of tigecycline against 1256 anaerobic pathogens collected across Europe has been compared to the activity of several comparator antibiotics. The pathogens examined in this study included Bacteroides, Prevotella, Anaerococcus, Clostridium, Finegoldia and Peptostreptococcus. Low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC(90)) values were noted against Gram-positive anaerobes for most agents on the test panel, with the exceptions of cefoxitin and clinclamycin. Low MIC(90)s were also reported against Gram-negative isolates for most agents, with the exceptions of clindamycin and, to a lesser degree, piperacillin-tazobactam. The lowest MIC(90)s against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms were typically noted for the carbapenem meropenem and tigecycline. Tigecycline showed the lowest MIC(90) against the key pathogen Clostridium difficile (0.25 mg/l). These in vitro results indicate that tigecycline may be useful in the treatment of infections caused by or involving anaerobic pathogens.