In-vitro Activity of Carbapenem/Sulbactam Combination against Acinetobacter baumannii Strains

Purpose: Carbapenems and sulbactam are often the drug of choice for the treatment of infections due to multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. The present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro synergistic activity between carbapenem and sulbactam against A. baumannii isolated from blood cultures of patients. Material and Method: The 100 A. baumannii strains isolated from blood culture specimens of patients hospitalized at Erciyes University Medical Faculty Gevher Nesibe Hospitals between February 2007 and March 2008, were included in this study. The in vitro synergistic activities of carbapenem-cefoperazone/ sulbactam combination on 100 A. baumannii strains were studied by E-test method. Results: With the combination of imipenem- cefoperazone/ sulbactam and meropenem- cefoperazone/ sulbactam on 43% and 49% of the strains respectively, synergistic activity was detected. No antagonism was detected with any combination. Conclusion: According to our in vitro study results, carbapenem-cefoperazone/ sulbactam combination can be an alternative for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant A. baumannii.