Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia clinical trials

Randomized-controlled Trial (RCT) on Combination Antibiotic for Infections Caused by Gram-negative Bacteria

Background and rationale: Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health threat. An increasing number of Gram-negative bacteria isolates worldwide are resistant to virtually all antibiotics including carbapenems. Although polymyxins are the current gold standard antibiotic for treatment of severe extensively drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (XDR-GNB - defined in Appendix I) infections, resistance development on therapy and treatment failures are common. Combination antibiotics therapy have better in vitro efficacy, but have not been formally tested in a prospective trial. We will conduct a Phase IIB, prospective, open-label, randomized-controlled trial in 4 major Singaporean hospitals, with balanced treatment assignments achieved by permuted block randomization, stratified by hospital. There will be 75 subjects per arm, with the subjects in the comparator arm receiving standard-dose polymyxin B while the intervention arm will receive a second antibiotic, doripenem, with polymyxin B against the bacterial isolate in question. Subjects with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) will additionally receive nebulized colistin. The primary outcome is 30-day mortality while secondary outcomes include microbiological clearance, time to defervescence, and toxicity of therapy, presence of secondary infections due to new multi-drug resistant bacteria and length of ICU stay. Plasma drug levels will be measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Hypothesis: The underlying primary hypothesis is that combination antibiotic therapy (IV polymyxin B + IV doripenem) is superior to mono-antibiotics therapy (IV polymyxin B) in reducing 30-day mortality from XDR-GNB infections.