ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: ß-lactams are the main antibiotics used against wild-type AmpC-producing Enterobacterales (wtAE). However, they may fail or select AmpC-overproducing mutants. Our aim was to assess factors associated with clinical failure of ß-lactams in the treatment of wtAE infection. METHODS: From September 2017 to December 2020, we prospectively included all consecutive patients treated by definitive ß-lactams therapy for wtAE infection in four university ICUs. Clinical failure was defined as inadequate response to antimicrobial therapy leading to death or to the switch for a broader-spectrum antibiotic. RESULTS: 177 patients were included and 29.4% progressed to clinical failure. E. cloacae was the most prevalent species (42.4%) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was the most frequent wtAE infection (69.5%). Cefepime and cefotaxime were used as definitive antibiotic treatment in 42.9% and 27.7% of patients, respectively. Occurrence of AmpC-overproduction was documented in 5.6% of patients and was associated with clinical failure (p = 0.004). In multivariate analysis, VAP (p < 0.001, OR 11.58 [95% CI 3.11-43.02] and K. aerogenes (p = 0.030, OR 3.76 [95% CI 1.13-12.46]) were independently associated with clinical failure. Conversely, cefotaxime as definitive treatment was found inversely associated with the risk of clinical failure (p = 0.022, OR 0.25 [95% CI 0.08-0.82]). After inverse probability weighting, cefotaxime showed a 20% risk reduction of clinical failure (95% CI 5-35%, p = 0.007) whatever the location of infection, the SOFA score on the day of wtAE infection, or the bacterial species. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical failure in the treatment of wtAE infections is associated with the infection site and the causal microorganism. Additionally, cefotaxime use is probably protective against clinical failure in wtAE infection.
