Uptake Of Gram-Negative Antibiotics Remains Higher For Older Agents, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/7, Basilio) reports a study found that “among new broad-spectrum antibiotics with gram-negative activity, ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam are the most commonly prescribed among inpatients. However, uptake of new gram-negative antibiotics remains lower than that of older agents such as piperacillin-tazobactam.” Researchers observed that the most frequently prescribed new antibiotic among hospitals in the study “was ceftolozane-tazobactam (42.6%), followed by ceftazidime-avibactam (37.5%), eravacycline (12.4%), cefiderocol (10.9%), meropenem-vaborbactam (4.7%), omadacycline (1.1%), and imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam (0.9%).” They concluded, “Though new Gram-negative antibiotics are not used nearly as frequently as workhorses like piperacillin-tazobactam, their use has largely surpassed less effective and more toxic antibiotics like colistin.” The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.