TY  - JOUR
AU  - Thurman, Lindsay 
AU  - Fewel, Nathan 
AU  - Rose, Michael 
AU  - Stock, Eileen 
PY  - 2014
TI  - UTILITY OF A COMBINATION ANTIBIOGRAM FOR TREATING PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA
JF  - American Journal of Infectious Diseases
VL  - 10
IS  - 2
DO  - 10.3844/ajidsp.2014.88.94
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajidsp.2014.88.94
AB  - Empiric combination antibiotic therapy is often used to treat severe P. aeruginosa infections. Combination antibiograms have been employed to assist clinicians in selecting the most effective two-drug antibiotic regimens. The objectives of this study were to develop a combination antibiogram in order to compare beta-lactam monotherapy versus dual-therapy with a fluoroquinolone or aminoglycoside, identify optimal combination regimens, describe the differences between combination therapies with an aminoglycoside versus a fluoroquinolone and to evaluate susceptibility rates based on the source of infection and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or non-ICU location. A retrospective observational study at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in the Southwestern region of the U.S. was conducted. P. aeruginosa isolates were collected between January 2008 and February 2012 in hospitalized veterans. A total of 374 isolates were included, of which 61 (16%) were obtained from the ICU. Susceptibility rates for monotherapy with a beta-lactam ranged from 83.7 to 90.6%. Collectively, all P. aeruginosa isolates benefited in coverage with the addition of a fluoroquinolone or an aminoglycoside to one of the beta-lactams considered for monotherapy (p