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Departments of Surgery, Medical Microbiology
Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention, Eijkman-Winkler Institute for Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Inflammation, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
ABSTRACT
To attain a better understanding of antibiotic cycling and its effects on the epidemiology of antibiotic resistance in gram-negative microorganisms, two different antibiotic classes (quinolone and -lactam) were cycled during four 4-month periods in a surgical intensive care unit. Respiratory aspirates and rectal swabs were obtained and DNA fingerprinting was performed. Primary endpoint of the study was the acquisition rate with gram-negative bacteria resistant to the antibiotic of choice during each cycle. Secondary endpoints were changes in endemic prevalence of resistant bacteria and the relative importance of cross-transmission. In all, 388 patients were included and 2,520 cultures analyzed. Adherence to antibiotic protocol was 96%. Overall antibiotic use increased with 24%. Acquisition rates with resistant bacteria were highest during levofloxacin exposure (relative risk [RR] 3.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4eC7.1) and piperacillin/tazobactam exposure (RR 2.4; 95% CI 1.2eC4.8). The relative importance of cross-transmission decreased during the study. For individual patients, treatment with levofloxacin was the only independent risk factor for acquisition of levofloxacin-resistant bacteria (hazard ratio 12.6; 95% CI 3.8eC41.6). Potential for selection of antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria during periods of homogeneous exposure increased from cefpirome to piperacillin/tazobactam to levofloxacin. Cycling of homogeneous antibiotic exposure is unlikely to control the emergence of gram-negative antimicrobial resistance in intensive care units.
Key Words: antibiotic resistance antibiotic rotation antimicrobial therapy cycling antibiotics gram-negative microorganisms
The increase in multiresistant microorganisms, both gram-positive and gram-negative, is an alarming problem worldwide, especially for intensive care unit (ICU) patients (1, 2). This global emergence of antibiotic resistance is fueled by the widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, creating a continuous selective pressure, and by lapses in infection control, which facilitate transmission of resistant pathogens.
Dynamics of antibiotic resistance within hospital settings are determined by introduction of resistance, cross-transmission, and selection and induction of resistant strains during antibiotic therapy (3). Multiple strategies have been designed to limit or reverse the emergence of antibiotic resistance, such as improving infection control measures (4eC6) and reducing unnecessary and inappropriate antibiotic use (7, 8). In addition, rotation or cycling of antimicrobial agents has been proposed as a strategy to limit the selective pressure of specific antibiotic classes, by periodically changing standard antibiotic regimens in patient populations. However, these studies either had a nonstructured cycling scheme (9), only evaluated changes in empirical therapy (10), used multiple antibiotics for cycling and had different cycling periods (9, 11), were difficult to interpret because of concomitant reductions in overall antibiotic use (12), or changes in infection control strategies (13). In none of these studies was all aspects of the dynamics of antibiotic resistance within small hospital settings (i.e., relative importance of introduction, cross-transmission and selection) addressed, precluding a reliable estimation of the potential efficacy of antibiotic cycling. Furthermore, the optimal antibiotic choices and duration of cycle periods remain unknown (14, 15).
To attain a better understanding on the epidemiology of antibiotic resistance in gram-negative microorganisms, we performed a prospective study in which two different antibiotic classes (quinolones and -lactam antibiotics) with different mechanisms for resistance development were cycled during four 4-month periods in a surgical ICU. Colonization with antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria was determined with intensive surveillance and bacterial genotyping was used to identify different acquisition routes.
METHODS
Setting and Study Population
The study was performed between February 2001 and June 2002 in the eight-bed surgical ICU (SICU) of the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands. The SICU consists of three separate single bedrooms, each with an anteroom and a center room with five beds. Patients were excluded from the protocol if they had a history of allergy to one of the study drugs, had meningitis or a brain abscess, and if they were expected to be admitted to the SICU for less than 24 hours. No surveillance cultures were obtained from the excluded patients. The study was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the University Medical Center Utrecht that waived the need for informed consent, considering the observational nature of the study, the use of conventional antibiotic therapy, the routine performance of surveillance cultures, and the maintenance of optimal patient care.
Study Design
The 16-month study consisted of four 4-month periods with cycling antibiotic policies. During cycles I and III, use of -lactam antibiotics was avoided and levofloxacin 500 mg intravenously once daily was the empiric antibiotic of choice (Table 1). During cycles II and IV, quinolones were avoided and -lactam antibiotics served as treatment of choice; cefpirome 2 g intravenously twice daily in cycle II and piperacillin/tazobactam 4.5 g intravenously three times daily in cycle IV. Deviation from protocol was allowed only if patients were known to be colonized with microorganisms resistant to the antibiotic of choice during that specific cycle or if they had medical contraindications for these agents. Infections caused by gram-negative bacteria resistant for levofloxacin were treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or meropenem (in case of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance). Instituted antimicrobial therapy was regarded as definitive treatment and not changed on susceptibility results or when study periods changed. Noncompliance to protocol was expressed as the number of antibiotic courses not in accordance with the empiric antibiotic strategy during that specific cycle.
Infection Control Measures
All standard infection control procedures, as used in our hospital, were maintained. These include strict isolation of patients colonized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In case of colonization (or infection) with aminoglycoside-resistant gram-negative bacteria active surveillance among other patients and barrier precautions (i.e., the use of gowns and gloves during patient contact by nursing and medical staff) for those found to be colonized were implemented.
After 4 weeks of study in cycle I, when resistance to levofloxacin emerged, it was decided that barrier precautions were also implemented for patients colonized with gram-negative bacteria resistant to any of the three rotation antibiotics. All analyses were performed for the whole study period and for the whole study period minus these 4 weeks to control for this change in infection control policy. Only overall results are presented, because they appeared not to be influenced by excluding the initial 4 weeks.
Microbiologic Investigations
Respiratory aspirates and rectal swabs were taken from all patients on admission to the SICU and thereafter once per week and on discharge from the ICU and processed according to standard methods. Morphologically different gram-negative colonies were selected for further identification and susceptibility testing using the Vitek I system (bioMeerieux, France). Additional susceptibility tests for levofloxacin and cefpirome were performed by means of the disk-diffusion method, according to the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (16).
Gram-negative isolates were typed using the automated RiboPrinter Microbial Characterization System (Qualicon Europe Ltd., Warwick, UK) as described previously (17).
Data Collection
Clinical data were collected on patients' demographics, diagnosis, the Acute Physiology and Clinical Health Evaluation score (APACHE-II score) on admission, complications, duration of ICU stay, and mortality. All antibiotics prescribed were recorded, including the duration and dose.
Primary Outcomes
The primary outcome measure was the acquisition rate of gram-negative bacteria resistant to the antibiotic of choice during each cycle. Secondary endpoints included mean point prevalence of colonization with gram-negative microorganisms in each cycle, antibiotic use, relative importance of endogenous and exogenous colonization, and patient-specific risk factors for colonization with resistant microorganisms.
Definitions
Colonization on admission was defined as a positive culture with gram-negative microorganisms within 48 hours of admission to the SICU. Acquired colonization was defined as a positive culture after 48 hours of admission with previous negative culture results. Acquisition rates were expressed as the total number of patients with acquired colonization divided by the total number of patient days at risk (i.e., the number of colonization-free days from ICU admission until colonization with the microorganism of interest). Thus, for individual patients, number of days at risk may vary per antibiotic. Acquisition rates were expressed per 1,000 patient days at risk.
Daily prevalences of resistance were defined as the number of patients colonized with a gram-negative microorganism resistant to an antibiotic divided by the total number of patients in the ward on that day. After a patient was colonized with an antibiotic-resistant microorganism, he or she was considered colonized until discharge. Colonization pressure was expressed as the mean of the daily prevalences for a period.
Acquired colonization could be from endogenous or exogenous origin. Exogenous colonization was defined as acquired colonization with a microorganism with an antibiotic resistance profile and genotype identical to that of a microorganism, belonging to the same species, and isolated previously from another patient present in an overlapping timeframe in the ward. Endogenous colonization was defined as acquired colonization with a microorganism with an unique genotype. Because patients can acquire colonization with more than one microorganism, both routes of colonization could be demonstrated in individual patients. Antibiotic usage was expressed in defined daily dosage (DDD) per 1,000 patient days. In risk factor analysis, exposure to a certain antibiotic for an individual patient was expressed as the number of DDDs divided by the days at risk for acquiring colonization.
Statistical Analysis
Risk factors for acquisition of resistant gram-negative bacteria were determined in univariant and multivariant analyses. Because of the relevance of duration at risk in univariate analysis, a Cox proportional hazard model was used for multivariate analysis. Independent samples t test, chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used when appropriate. Statistical significance was considered for p values less than 0.05.
RESULTS
Patients
During the study, 388 patients were admitted to the surgical ICU, of whom 38 were discharged within the first 24 hours and 9 died on the day of admission. Thus 341 patients were included, representing 358 admissions (15 patients admitted twice and one patient three times) (Table 2). Demographic characteristics and outcome data, such as mortality rates and length of stay, were comparable for the four cycles.
Antibiotic Use
In 95.6% of all cases, antibiotics were prescribed according to protocol, varying from 88.5% in cycle I to 100% in cycle II. Proportions of quinolone use were 27% and 31% in cycles I and III and 0% and 3% in cycles II and IV (Table 3). In contrast, proportions of -lactam use were 39% and 49% in cycles II and IV and 9% and 1.5% in cycles I and III. Overall antibiotic use increased with 24% during the 16-month study period; from 816 DDD/1,000 patient days in cycle I to 1,009 DDD/1,000 patient days in cycle IV. The increase was apparent for several groups of antibiotics. As compared with cycle I, the use of the three protocolized antibiotics increased with 74% in cycle IV, carbapenem use increased with 159.5% in cycle III and with 69.5% in cycle IV, and aminoglycoside use increased with 110% in cycle IV. The number of patients receiving any of the protocolized antibiotics remained stable throughout the four cycles (range 37eC54 per cycle), with the lowest number of patients in cycle IV. The mean duration of therapy increased from 5.4 ± 3.7 days in cycle I to 10.8 ± 13.4 days in cycle IV (p = 0.014). Similarly, numbers of patients receiving carbapenems per cycle did not change dramatically (range from 9eC17 patients), but duration of therapy increased from 5.6 ± 4.3 days in cycle I to 10.2 ± 9.5 and 10.5 ± 7.4 days in cycles III (p = NS) and IV (p = NS), respectively. For patients receiving aminoglycosides (range 12eC20 per cycle), duration of therapy increased from 7.1 ± 5.8 days in cycle I to 16.1 ± 14.3 days in cycle IV (p = 0.027). Mean duration of aminoglycoside use during cycle IV, when including all patients, was 3.4 ± 8.0 (0eC32 days). In fact, the longer durations of antibiotic therapy were caused by multiple episodes of short courses (all antibiotic courses, in days, summed per patient), whereas the duration of each individual episode remained stable (data not shown).
Microbiologic Results
In all, 2,520 surveillance cultures were obtained (1,262 tracheal aspirates and 1,258 rectal swabs), representing a mean of 5.9 cultures per patient (range 1eC136) and yielding 3,819 microorganisms. Percentages of patients colonized per cycle ranged from 71% to 77% (p = NS) for Enterobacteriaceae, from 17% to 30% (p = NS) for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (p = NS), and from 5% to 16% (p = 0.02) for other nonfermenters. Rates of patients colonized with resistant gram-negative microorganisms on admission were low (range 0eC4 patients per cycle) and did not change in between cycles (Table 4). Mean colonization pressure per month for levofloxacin resistance was highest (0.52) in month 3 (cycle I), dropped to zero in month 9 (start of cycle III) and then increased to 0.37 in months 14 and 15 (cycle IV) (Figure 1). In contrast, mean colonization pressure per month for cefpirome resistance was low ( 0.1) during cycle I but increased in month 6 (cycle II) to 0.30, decreased to zero in month 11 and then increased to 0.51 in month 16 (cycle IV). Mean colonization pressure per month for piperacillin-tazobactam resistance was generally low during cycles I-III with a peak of 0.25 in month 6 (cycle II), but increased to 0.33 in month 14 (cycle IV) and finally decreased to 0.15 in the remaining 2 months.
Monthly acquisition rates clearly peaked for levofloxacin resistance in month 3 (cycle I) and months 11 and 12 at the end of cycle III (Figure 2). Acquisition rates for gram-negative bacteria resistant for levofloxacin were 23.1 and 16.8/1,000 days at risk in cycle I and III, as compared with 5.3 and 5.0/1,000 days at risk in cycles II and IV. Overall, acquisition rates for levofloxacin resistance were 19.6/1,000 days at risk during periods of exposure (cycles I and III) and 5.2/1,000 days at risk in periods of nonexposure (relative risk [RR] 3.2 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4eC7.1, p = 0.003).
Acquisition of cefpirome-resistant gram-negative bacteria was highest in month 6 of the study (cycle II), but slightly lower acquisition rates were found in periods of nonexposure. Overall, acquisition rates of cefpirome-resistant gram-negative bacteria per cycle did not differ significantly (11.1eC16.8/1,000 patient days at risk). The acquisition rate for cefpirome-resistant microorganisms was 14.8/1,000 days at risk during exposure (cycle II) and 13.3/1,000 days at risk during periods of nonexposure (RR 0.9; 95% CI: 0.4eC1.7, p = 0.85).
Acquisition rates of piperacillin/tazobactam-resistant gram-negative bacteria were highest during the -lactam cycles, with the highest acquisition rates during cycle IV (16.3/1,000 days at risk) (Figure 2). In the periods of nonexposure, the overall acquisition rate for piperacillin/tazobactam was 9.0/1,000 days at risk (range 7.8eC11.1/1,000 days at risk), which was lower than during exposure (RR 2.4; 95% CI: 1.2eC4.8, p = 0.02). Acquisition rates for any of the three protocolized antibiotics tended to be higher during cycle I and III (29.6 and 37.9/1,000 days at risk) than during cycle II and IV (16.8 and 19.5/1,000 days at risk) (RR 1.4; 95% CI: 0.9eC2.3, p = 0.20).
Exogenous acquisition steadily decreased from 12 episodes in cycle I (all P. aeruginosa), to 8 episodes in cycle II (all P. aeruginosa), to 3 episodes in cycle III and IV (2 Enterobacteriaceae and 2 nonfermenters in cycle III and only Enterobacteriaceae in cycle IV). Figure 3 illustrates the typing results of the P. aeruginosa isolates cultured during the different cycles. In contrast, occurrence of endogenous colonization remained more or less stable (ranging from 6 episodes in cycle II to 12 in cycle III) with almost equal distribution of species (15 P. aeruginosa, 19 Enterobacteriaceae, and 17 nonfermenters). Endogenous and exogenous colonization were equally important during cycles I and II, with 16 and 20 cases each, whereas the endogenous route was more important during the last two cycles with 23 as opposed to 9 cases for the exogenous route (p = 0.014).
Risk Factors for Colonization
Acquisition of levofloxacin resistance was associated with higher APACHE II scores, being treated in ICU during cycle I or III (levofloxacin cycles), prolonged duration at risk, an increased exposure to levofloxacin, clindamycin, metronidazole, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Table 5). In multivariate Cox regression, the proportional hazard of being treated in the ICU during cycles I and III for acquisition of levofloxacin-resistant gram-negative bacteria was 12.6 (95% CI: 3.8eC41.6, p < 0.0001). The numbers of days treated with antibiotics did not affect the risk for acquisition of levofloxacin-resistant microorganisms. Acquisition of cefpirome-resistant and piperacillin/tazobactam-resistant gram-negative bacteria was associated with higher APACHE II scores, longer duration at risk and higher exposure to all of the antibiotics (except piperacillin/tazobactam for cefpirome-resistant bacteria), and with treatment in a period of high exposure to piperacillin/tazobactam. In multivariate Cox regression, however, none of these risk factors were significantly associated with acquisition of resistant gram-negative bacteria.
DISCUSSION
The main features of this study are that, despite 96% compliance with protocol, cycling with quinolones and -lactam antibiotics only modified 27% to 49% of the overall antibiotic use, that the use of both quinolones and piperacillin/tazobactam were associated with increased acquisition of resistance, and that total antibiotic use increased with 24% during the study period. These findings demonstrate that cycling of homogeneous antibiotic exposure (i.e., repeated rotation of two antibiotic classes) is associated with changing profiles of resistance development, which questions its use as a strategy to prevent antibiotic resistance in ICUs.
Only a few studies tested the concept of cycling antibiotic classes. The hypothesis behind this strategy is that the cyclic exposure to homogeneous selective antibiotic pressure prevents emergence of resistance in two ways. First, it is assumed that antibiotic-resistant microorganisms have a growth disadvantage when the selective antibiotic pressure is withdrawn. Therefore, resistance development during exposure will be counterbalanced during periods of nonexposure. Second, if resistance develops during one period, exposure to another class of antibiotics in the following cycle will eliminate the resistant microorganisms. For this to occur, mechanisms of resistance development for the different antibiotics should not be identical and cross-resistance should be absent. However, apart from theoretical considerations, many aspects of daily clinical practice may interfere with these concepts. For example, changes in the numbers of patients introducing resistant microorganisms into the unit or changes in compliance with hygienic measures will affect emergence of antibiotic resistance. The effectiveness of infection control programs can be influenced by changes in workload of health care workers or understaffing, both of which will lead to more patient health care worker contacts and less adherence to hand hygiene, and thus to more transmission of pathogens (18eC21). Whether the theoretical benefits of antibiotic cycling hold true in daily practice can only be tested by controlling confounding variables as much as possible.
The present study shows some differences between theoretical considerations and daily clinical practice. Although resistance development against -lactam and fluoroquinolone antibiotics is based on different mechanisms, homogeneous exposure to one of these classes did not prevent resistance development to the other class. In addition, withdrawal of exposure was not followed by a rapid decrease of resistance, as predicted by a theoretical model (23).
The absence of such a rapid decrease in resistance was at least partly the result of cross-resistance to multiple antibiotics. As a result, selective pressure will not decrease with a new cycle. The emerging problem of multiple resistance among gram-negative bacteria, therefore, may well decrease the potential benefits of antibiotic cycling. Recent findings have shown that resistance to quinolones in the United States is increasing rapidly, paralleling the increased use of these agents, and that these mostly gram-negative pathogens frequently are cross-resistant to other antibiotic classes (22). Therefore, the assumed cost of resistance or eradication through exposure to a new class of antibiotics is unlikely to decrease resistance rates in such settings. Because most patients remain colonized until the end of their ICU stay, patient turnover will be the major determinant for a decrease of resistance rates (by replacing colonized by noncolonized patients), as earlier suggested by Lipsitch and coworkers (23). This is extremely important for ICU populations that are typically small (6eC15 beds), because a few outliers can maintain resistance for prolonged periods, even into a subsequent period with renewed exposure to the same antibiotics. Therefore, from a theoretical point of view, rotation periods should be long enough to prevent patients from being repeatedly exposed to the same antibiotic pressure. Because none of the patients in our study were treated during three consecutive periods, the 4-month rotation period fulfilled to this theoretical prerequisite.
Homogeneous exposure to quinolones was associated with the highest risks of acquisition of resistance and its use appeared to be an independent risk factor for acquisition for individual patients. Homogeneous exposure to piperacillin/tazobactam was also associated with increased acquisition of resistance, though its use was not independently associated with acquisition. Based on the acquisition rates during the individual cycles and the multivariate risk factor analysis, the three antibiotics could be ranked in order of increasing resistance potential from cefpirome to piperacillin/tazobactam to levofloxacin.
Resistance to quinolone antibiotics is almost always chromosomally mediated and therefore assumed to be extremely susceptible to inducible resistance in settings with high selective quinolone pressure. Mutations may lead to reduced cell wall permeability or upregulation of efflux pumps, with cross-resistance to carbapenems (24). In addition, exposure to fluoroquinolones was a risk factor for infection with piperacillin/tazobactameCresistant pathogens in one study (25). The inclusion of levofloxacin in two study periods may have introduced a bias against the quinolones because there is circumstantial evidence from in vitro studies and clinical observations that levofloxacin has a higher potential for resistance mutations than does ciprofloxacin (26). Resistance to -lactam antibiotics is often plasmid-mediated (although chromosomally mediated resistance also exists), allowing horizontal transfer of resistance genes. Naturally, all microorganisms can spread through cross-transmission. In our setting, acquired colonization with fluoroquinolone-resistant pathogens resulted mostly from cross-transmission especially during cycle I, whereas acquired colonization with -lactameCresistant pathogens was considered to have equally originated from endogenous and exogenous sources—either by selection of preexisting resistant flora or through mutations.
The high acquisition rate of fluoroquinolone resistance in cycle I partly resulted from exogenous acquisition of P. aeruginosa, suggesting lapses in infection control practices. Adherence to infection control measures is an important confounder in studies evaluating interventions aiming to modulate antibiotic resistance levels in ICUs. In the present study, implemented infection control measures were enforced after the first isolation of fluoroquinolone-resistant microorganisms, but remained identical for the remainder of the study. Inclusion of the first period of less stringent infection control (4 weeks) could, therefore, have led to overestimation of true effects of quinolone exposure. Therefore, all analyses of cycle I were performed for the total cycle (16 weeks) and for the cycle period after infection control measures had changed (12 weeks) (data not shown). All but one of the acquisitions, however, occurred after barrier precautions had been enforced. Restriction of the analysis to the 12-week period would have resulted in a higher acquisition rate. Therefore, we don't feel that the implemented changes strongly affected our findings. Nevertheless, the proportion of acquisitions from cross-transmission steadily decreased during the study period. Because we did not monitor compliance with infection control measures, we cannot exclude the possibility that growing awareness of the study among health care workers influenced their behavior, leading to lower incidences of cross-transmission during the study period.
During the 16-month study period, antibiotic use gradually increased from 816 to 1,009 DDD/1,000 patients days. There were no changes in patient populations that could explain this increased prescription, and because criteria for infections were not registered, we can neither confirm nor exclude that physicians had lowered their level of suspicion for infection. It is possible that a (nonsignificant) longer ICU stay during period 4 increased the risk for acquisition of resistant bacteria, thereby increasing the need for more and prolonged courses of antibiotics. However, total acquisition rates with resistant gram-negative bacteria were not higher during period 4. Another possibility would be that, because of strictly protocolized antibiotic use, interaction between ICU physicians and consulting infectious disease specialists and medical microbiologists had decreased. Several studies have shown that infectious disease consultation reduces antibiotic use (12, 27, 28). Monitoring of antibiotic use was continued during the first 4 months after the study had been discontinued. In this period, antibiotic interaction between medical microbiologists and infectious disease specialist with intensivists reintensified and overall antibiotic use decreased to 859 DDD/1,000 patient days (data not shown).
Although compliance to protocol was high (96%), proportions of protocolized antibiotics per period varied between 27% and 49%. Of note, our study was designed to rotate antibiotics for treatment of gram-negative microorganisms only, and not for the treatment of gram-positive or anaerobic microorganisms because antibiotic resistance among these microorganisms is not a problem in our hospital. During the period of study, there was only one patient admitted with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (without spread to others) and no patients with vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Antibiotic rotation had no effects on the susceptibilities of clinical isolates of S. aureus (n = 115 patients) (data not shown). Moreover, use of aminoglycosides, though allowed by protocol, was not included in these proportions. With restriction to treatment of gram-negative microorganisms and inclusion of aminoglycosides as protocolized proportional shifts per cycle would vary from 69% to 79%. However, from an ecologic perspective, only total antibiotic use in the unit is relevant. Our findings clearly demonstrate that even with high compliance rates, it would be difficult to create large periodic shifts in antibiotic exposure.
The results of the present study identify some circumstances in which cycling of antibiotics could stimulate, rather than reduce, emergence of antibiotic resistance. Assuming that introduction of resistance into the unit does not change and environmental sources can be neglected, a period of homogeneous antibiotic exposure may lead to a higher colonization pressure, which will increase the risk of cross-transmission (29), which will further increase colonization pressure. In contrast, short cycles of homogeneous antibiotic exposure, or no cycling at all, are less likely to lead to an increased colonization pressure of a certain resistance profile. Nevertheless, with poor infection control compliance, risk of cross-transmission will be the same, but rather will remain unnoticed because different resistance profiles exist.
Our findings do not lend support to the concept that cycling of homogeneous antibiotic exposure will control emerging antibiotic resistance among gram-negative microorganisms in ICUs. The antibiotic classes tested in the present study stimulated development and spread of resistance within short periods and, owing to cross-resistance replacement of antibiotic exposure, failed to eradicate the existing resistance brought about in the previous cycle. Moreover, overall antibiotic use increased during the study period, which could have contributed to the resistance patterns observed. We realize that complete prevention of cross-transmission could have changed our findings, but the majority of cases of acquisition still were considered to be from endogenous origin. Again, the increased antibiotic use during the study might have shifted the origin of resistance development to a more endogenous pattern. Most important, however, is our finding that even with compliance to an antibiotic rotation policy as high as 96%, there is still not enough control of antibiotic usage in the ICU to have a meaningful impact on resistance patterns. Therefore, improving infection prevention and reducing antibiotic use probably are the only meaningful strategies to control antibiotic resistance. Increasing specificity for diagnosing infections; for example, by using an invasive diagnostic strategy for pneumonia (7, 8) and reducing duration of therapy (7, 30), are possibilities that have not been studied extensively yet. In addition, specific antibiotic regimens may indeed prevent the development and spread of resistance in certain settings, such as described in a neonatal ICU. Here, an empirical regimen of penicillin and tobramycin resulted in less resistance among Enterobacter species than a regimen of cefotaxime and ampicillin (31).
Acknowledgments
H.J.v.L. received 225,000 as a research grant from Aventis Pharma BV in the Netherlands from 2001 to 2002 as supervisor of the research group to perform the research described in this manuscript; M.R.V. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this manuscript; A.C.F. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this manuscript; A.T. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this manuscript; C.v.d.W. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this manuscript; J.V. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this manuscript; M.J.M.B. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this manuscript.
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