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Predicting competition between antibiotic-susceptible wild-type (WT) and less susceptible mutant (MT) bacteria is valuable for understanding how drug concentrations influence the emergence of resistance. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models predicting the rate and extent of takeover of resistant bacteria during different antibiotic pressures can thus be a valuable tool in improving treatment regimens. The aim of this study was to evaluate a previously developed mechanism-based PK/PD model for its ability to predict in vitro mixed-population experiments with competition between Escherichia coli (E. coli) WT and three well-defined E. coli resistant MTs when exposed to ciprofloxacin. Model predictions for each bacterial strain and ciprofloxacin concentration were made for in vitro static and dynamic time-kill experiments measuring CFU (colony forming units)/mL up to 24 h with concentrations close to or below the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), as well as for serial passage experiments with concentrations well below the MIC measuring ratios between the two strains with flow cytometry. The model was found to reasonably well predict the initial bacterial growth and killing of most static and dynamic time-kill competition experiments without need for parameter re-estimation. With parameter re-estimation of growth rates, an adequate fit was also obtained for the 6-day serial passage competition experiments. No bacterial interaction in growth was observed. This study demonstrates the predictive capacity of a PK/PD model and further supports the application of PK/PD modelling for prediction of bacterial kill in different settings, including resistance selection., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.)

Increasing use of antibiotics and rising levels of bacterial resistance to antibiotics are a challenge to global health and development. Successful initiatives for containing the problem need to be communicated and disseminated. In Sweden, a rapid spread of resistant pneumococci in the southern part of the country triggered the formation of the Swedish strategic programme against antibiotic resistance, also known as Strama, in 1995. The creation of the programme was an important starting point for long-term coordinated efforts to tackle antibiotic resistance in the country. This paper describes the main strategies of the programme: committed work at the local and national levels; monitoring of antibiotic use for informed decision-making; a national target for antibiotic prescriptions; surveillance of antibiotic resistance for local, national and global action; tracking resistance trends; infection control to limit spread of resistance; and communication to raise awareness for action and behavioural change. A key element for achieving long-term changes has been the bottom-up approach, including working closely with prescribers at the local level. The work described here and the lessons learnt could inform countries implementing their own national action plans against antibiotic resistance.

This commentary examines how specific sustainable development goals (SDGs) are affected by antimicrobial resistance and suggests how the issue can be better integrated into international policy processes. Moving beyond the importance of effective antibiotics for the treatment of acute infections and health care generally, we discuss how antimicrobial resistance also impacts on environmental, social, and economic targets in the SDG framework. The paper stresses the need for greater international collaboration and accountability distribution, and suggests steps towards a broader engagement of countries and United Nations agencies to foster global intersectoral action on antimicrobial resistance.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to study the presence of mutators in a set of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates and to explore whether there is a correlation between mutation rates and antibiotic resistance., Methods: The variation in mutation rate was evaluated for 237 clinical A. baumannii isolates by determining the frequency of their mutation to rifampicin resistance. For each isolate, the antibiotic resistance profile was determined by disc diffusion and/or Etest. Isolates were divided into susceptible, resistant and MDR groups according to their resistance to five groups of different antibiotics. A comparison between differences in mutation frequency (f) and strain-specific factors was performed., Results: Of the 237 isolates 32%, 18% and 50% were classified as susceptible, resistant and MDR, respectively. The f of rifampicin resistance varied between 2.2 × 10(-10) and 1.2 × 10(-6). Of the strains under investigation, 16% had an ≥2.5- to 166-fold higher f. The presence of mutators (definition ≥2.5-fold increase in f compared with ATCC 19606) in the MDR group (22%) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that in the susceptible and resistant groups (11% and 7%, respectively). Furthermore, f was significantly higher in the MDR group compared with that in the susceptible and resistant groups., Conclusions: The facts that 26 of 37 mutator isolates (70%) in the population were MDR and that there was a significantly higher general f in isolates exhibiting an MDR profile suggest that hypermutability can be of advantage for the organism in a selective environment with extensive exposure to antimicrobials., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.)

Objectives: In silico pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models can be developed based on data from in vitro time-kill experiments and can provide valuable information to guide dosing of antibiotics. The aim was to develop a mechanism-based in silico model that can describe in vitro time-kill experiments of Escherichia coli MG1655 WT and six isogenic mutants exposed to ciprofloxacin and to identify relationships that may be used to simplify future characterizations in a similar setting., Methods: In this study, we developed a mechanism-based PK/PD model describing killing kinetics for E. coli following exposure to ciprofloxacin. WT and six well-characterized mutants, with one to four clinically relevant resistance mutations each, were exposed to a wide range of static ciprofloxacin concentrations., Results: The developed model includes susceptible growing bacteria, less susceptible (pre-existing resistant) growing bacteria, non-susceptible non-growing bacteria and non-colony-forming non-growing bacteria. The non-colony-forming state was likely due to formation of filaments and was needed to describe data close to the MIC. A common model structure with different potency for bacterial killing (EC50) for each strain successfully characterized the time-kill curves for both WT and the six E. coli mutants., Conclusions: The model-derived mutant-specific EC50 estimates were highly correlated (r(2) = 0.99) with the experimentally determined MICs, implying that the in vitro time-kill profile of a mutant strain is reasonably well predictable by the MIC alone based on the model., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

In this paper, we argue that antibiotic resistance (ABR) raises a number of ethical problems that have not yet been sufficiently addressed. We outline four areas in which ethical issues that arise in relation to ABR are particularly pressing. First, the emergence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant infections exacerbates traditional ethical challenges of infectious disease control, such as the restriction of individual liberty for the protection of the public's health. Second, ABR raises issues of global distributive justice, both with regard to the overuse and lack of access to antibiotics. Third, the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine raises serious concerns for animal welfare and sustainable farming practices. Finally, the diminishing effectiveness of antibiotics leads to questions about intergenerational justice and our responsibility for the wellbeing of future generations. We suggest that current policy discussions should take ethical conflicts into account and engage openly with the challenges that we outline in this paper., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and the International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.)

Pharmacodynamic and mutant prevention properties of the fluoroquinolone pradofloxacin (PRA) were measured against a set of 17 Escherichia coli strains carrying no, one or two known mutations conferring reduced fluoroquinolone susceptibility. The strains included susceptible wild-types, isogenic constructed mutants, isogenic selected mutants and clinical isolates. The effectiveness of PRA was determined with regard to preventing the selection of resistant mutants, using static and changing concentrations of drug. Ciprofloxacin was used as a reference drug. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and mutant prevention concentrations (MPCs) of PRA for the susceptible wild-type strains were in the range 0.012-0.016mg/L and 0.2-0.3mg/L, respectively, giving a mean±standard deviation mutant prevention index (MPI=MPC/MIC) of 17.7±1.1. The mean MPI PRA of the 14 mutant strains was 19.2±12, and the mean MPI across all 17 strains was 18.9±10.8. In an in vitro kinetic model in which PRA was diluted with a half-life of 7h to mimic in vivo conditions, an initial concentration of PRA of 1.6-2.4mg/L (8-10× MPC), giving a PRA AUC/MPC ratio of 73-92, and a T>MPC of 21-23h was sufficient to prevent the selection of resistant mutants from the three susceptible wild-type strains. Dosing to reduce selection for antibiotic resistance in veterinary therapy has a role in reducing the reservoir of resistant mutants. We conclude that a level of dosing that prevents the selection of resistant mutants during therapy should be achievable in vivo., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. and the International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.)

Gentamicin is commonly used in the management of neonatal infections. Development of adaptive resistance is typical for aminoglycosides and reduces the antibacterial effect. There is, however, a lack of understanding of how this phenomenon influences the effect of different dosing schedules. The aim was to develop a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PKPD) model that describes the time course of the bactericidal activity of gentamicin and its adaptive resistance and to investigate different dosing schedules in preterm and term newborn infants based on the developed model. In vitro time-kill curve experiments were conducted on a strain of Escherichia coli (MIC of 2 mg/liter). The gentamicin exposure was either constant (0.125 to 16 mg/liter) or dynamic (simulated concentration-time profiles in a kinetic system with peak concentrations of 2.0, 3.9, 7.8, and 16 mg/liter given as single doses or as repeated doses every 6, 12, or 24 h). Semimechanistic PKPD models were fitted to the bacterial counts in the NONMEM (nonlinear mixed effects modeling) program. A model with compartments for growing and resting bacteria, with a function allowing the maximal bacterial killing of gentamicin to reduce with exposure, characterized both the fast bactericidal effect and the adaptive resistance. Despite a lower peak concentration, preterm neonates were predicted to have a higher bacterial killing effect than term neonates for the same per-kg dose because of gentamicin's longer half-life. The model supported an extended dosing interval of gentamicin in preterm neonates, and for all neonates, dosing intervals of 36 to 48 h were as effective as a 24-h dosing interval for the same total dose.

Two commercial databases (Pharmaprojects and Adis Insight R&D) were queried for antibacterial agents in clinical development. Particular attention was given to antibacterial agents for systemic administration. For each agent, reviewers were requested to indicate whether its spectrum of activity covered a set of selected multidrug-resistant bacteria, and whether it had a new mechanism of action or a new target. In addition, PubMed was searched for antibacterial agents in development that appeared in review articles. Out of 90 agents that were considered to fulfil the inclusion criteria for the analysis, 66 were new active substances. Fifteen of these could be systemically administered and were assessed as acting via a new or possibly new mechanism of action or on a new or possibly new target. Out of these, 12 agents were assessed as having documented in vitro activity against antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria and only four had documented in vitro activity against antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Of these four, two acted on new or possibly new targets and, crucially, none acted via new mechanisms of action. There is an urgent need to address the lack of effective treatments to meet the increasing public health burden caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, in particular against Gram-negative bacteria., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To investigate the effects of clinically used doses of norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin on survival and selection in Escherichia coli populations containing fluoroquinolone-resistant subpopulations and to measure the value of the pharmacodynamic index AUC/mutant prevention concentration (MPC) that prevents the growth of pre-existing resistant mutants., Methods: Mixed cultures of susceptible wild-type and isogenic single (gyrA S83L) or double (gyrA S83L, Delta marR) fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants were exposed to fluoroquinolones for 24 h in an in vitro kinetic model. Antibiotic concentrations modelled pharmacokinetics attained with clinical doses., Results: All tested doses eradicated the susceptible wild-type strain. Norfloxacin 200 mg administered twice daily selected for both single and double mutants. Ciprofloxacin 250 mg administered twice daily eradicated the single mutant, but not the double mutant. For that, 750 mg administered twice daily was required. Moxifloxacin 400 mg once daily eliminated the single mutant, but did not completely remove the double mutant. The MPC of ciprofloxacin was determined and based on those dose simulations that eradicated mutant subpopulations, an AUC/MPC(wild-type) of 35 prevented selection of the single mutant, whereas an AUC/MPC(single mutant) of 14 (equivalent to an AUC/MPC(wild-type) of 105) prevented selection of the double mutant., Conclusions: All tested clinical dosing regimens were effective in eradicating susceptible bacteria, but ciprofloxacin 750 mg twice daily was the only dose that prevented the selection of single- and double-resistant E. coli mutants. Thus, among approved fluoroquinolone dosing regimens, some are significantly more effective than others in exceeding the mutant selection window and preventing the enrichment of resistant mutants.

The worldwide increase in antibiotic resistance is a concern for public health. The fact that the choice of dose and treatment duration can affect the selection of antibiotic-resistant mutants is becoming more evident, and an increased number of studies have used pharmacodynamic models to describe the drug exposure and pharmacodynamic breakpoints needed to minimize and predict the development of resistance. However, there remains a lack of sufficient data, and future work is needed to fully characterize these target drug concentrations. More knowledge is also needed of drug pharmacodynamics versus bacteria with different resistance mutations and susceptibility levels. The dosing regimens should exhibit high efficacy not only against susceptible wild-type bacteria but, preferably, also against mutated bacteria that may exist in low numbers in "susceptible" populations. Thus, to prolong the life span of existing and new antibiotics, it is important that dosing regimens be carefully selected on the basis of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties that prevent emergence of preexisting and newly formed mutants.

Objectives: To evaluate the mutant prevention concentrations (MPCs) of ciprofloxacin for two susceptible and one first-step gyrA resistant mutant Escherichia coli strains in an in vitro kinetic model and to identify the pharmacodynamic index that best predicts prevention of resistance emergence., Methods: An in vitro kinetic model was used to measure MPC with static antibiotic concentrations and to test different dosing profiles to study pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics indices important to prevent the growth of resistant mutants. In one set of kinetic experiments the starting concentration was equal to the MPC and the T > MPC was varied before antibiotic dilution was begun. In a second set of kinetic experiments C(max) was varied and dilution of the antibiotic was started at time zero., Results: From the static experiments we calculated MPC values of 0.128 mg/L for both the susceptible strains (16x MIC) and 0.188 mg/L (4x MIC) for the first-step resistant (gyrA) strain. The kinetic experiments showed that the T > MPC needed to prevent the growth of resistant bacteria was shorter with an increased C(max). When resistance was selected, several subpopulations with different levels of susceptibility to ciprofloxacin emerged., Conclusions: Neither T > MPC nor C(max) proved to be single correlates for preventing resistance development. For the two investigated wild-type strains, an AUC/MPC ratio of > or =22 was the single pharmacodynamic index that predicted prevention of resistant mutant development.

Antibiotic dosing regimens may vary in their capacity to select mutants. Our hypothesis was that selection of a more resistant bacterial subpopulation would increase with the time within a selective window (SW), i.e., when drug concentrations fall between the MICs of two strains. An in vitro kinetic model was used to study the selection of two Escherichia coli strains with different susceptibilities to cefotaxime. The bacterial mixtures were exposed to cefotaxime for 24 h and SWs of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 h. A mathematical model was developed that described the selection of preexisting and newborn mutants and the post-MIC effect (PME) as functions of pharmacokinetic parameters. Our main conclusions were as follows: (i) the selection between preexisting mutants increased with the time within the SW; (ii) the emergence and selection of newborn mutants increased with the time within the SW (with a short time, only 4% of the preexisting mutants were replaced by newborn mutants, compared to the longest times, where 100% were replaced); and (iii) PME increased with the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) and was slightly more pronounced with a long elimination half-life (T(1/2)) than with a short T(1/2) situation, when AUC is fixed. We showed that, in a dynamic competition between strains with different levels of resistance, the appearance of newborn high-level resistant mutants from the parental strains and the PME can strongly affect the outcome of the selection and that pharmacodynamic models can be used to predict the outcome of resistance development.

Local infection control measures, antibiotic consumption and patient demographics from 1999-2000 together with bacteriological analyses were investigated in 29 ICUs participating in the ICU-STRAMA programme. The median antibiotic consumption per ICU was 1147 (range 605-2143) daily doses per 1000 occupied bed d (DDD1000). Antibiotics to which > 90% of isolates of an organism were susceptible were defined as treatment alternatives (TA90). The mean number of TA90 was low (1-2 per organism) for Enterococcus faecium (vancomycin:VAN), coagulase negative staphylococci (VAN), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ceftazidime:CTZ, netilmicin: NET) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (CTZ, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole: TSU), but higher (3-7) for Acinetobacter spp. (imipenem:IMI, NET, TSU), Enterococcus faecalis (ampicillin:AMP, IMI, VAN), Serratia spp. (ciprofloxacin:CIP, IMI, NET), Enterobacter spp. (CIP, IMI, NET, TSU), E. coli (cefuroxime:CXM, cefotaxime/eftazidime:CTX/CTZ, CIP, IMI, NET, piperacillin-tazobactam:PTZ, TSU), Klebsiella spp. (CTX/CTZ CIP, IMI, NET, PTZ, TSU) and Staphylococcus aureus (clindamycin, fusidic acid, NET, oxacillin, rifampicin, VAN). Of S. aureus isolates 2% were MRSA. Facilities for alcohol hand disinfection at each bed were available in 96% of the ICUs. The numbers of TA90 available were apparently higher than in ICUs in southern Europe and the US, despite a relatively high antibiotic consumption. This may be due to a moderate ecological impact of the used agents and the infection control routines in Swedish ICUs.

Background: Antibiotic resistance typically confers a biological fitness cost on bacteria that can be manifested as a decreased growth rate in culture media and experimental animals. However, there are limited experimental data on the relative fitness of resistant and susceptible bacteria during growth in their natural environment., Objective: We have developed a human competition model to investigate the relative fitness of antibiotic-resistant and -susceptible bacteria., Materials and Methods: A non-epidemic Staphylococcus epidermidis strain was isolated from skin, and a rifampicin-resistant (RifR) clone was selected. The RifR marker was used to distinguish the inoculated strains from the resident population of coagulase-negative staphylococci. The RifR strains were further selected for resistance to ciprofloxacin (CipR) and fusidic acid (FusR). A 1:1 mix of susceptible and resistant bacteria was applied on the forearms of 12 volunteers. Competition was monitored by sampling bacteria from skin and determining their relative numbers., Results: Resistance to ciprofloxacin due to parC mutations did not decrease the growth rate in vitro, and the CipR/CipS ratio was close to 1 during day 1 and 3 in the in vivo competition experiments. In contrast, fusidic acid resistance due to fusA mutations resulted in a decrease in the growth rate in vitro and a considerable loss of fitness in the competition. The FusR/FusS ratio diminished from 1.3 to 0.023 in 3 days., Conclusions: These data show that human volunteers can be used as a simple and relevant model to study the biological cost of resistance.