Is ampicillin plus cephalosporins a therapeutic option for Ampicillin-Susceptible Enterococcus faecium?
Bierge, Paula (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Gómez-Sánchez, Inmaculada (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
García de la Mària, Cristina (Hospital Clínic i Provincial de Barcelona)
Sánchez-Osuna, Miquel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Capilla, Silvia (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Casabella Pernas, Antonio (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Espasa, Mateu (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Novais, Carla (Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Farmácia)
Miró, José M. (Hospital Clínic i Provincial de Barcelona)
Pich, Oscar Q. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Gasch, Oriol (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Objectives: Enterococcus faecium, a significant hospital associated pathogen, poses substantial treatment challenges. While combinations of ampicillin with cephalosporins are first-line therapies to treat Enterococcus faecalis high-mortality-rates infections, their efficacy against ampicillin-susceptible E. faecium (ASEfm) is less clear. This study evaluates the effectiveness of combining ampicillin with ceftriaxone or ceftaroline against ASEfm strains. Methods: Ten ASEfm bloodstream isolates from complicated infections were analyzed. Susceptibility to several antibiotics, including ceftriaxone, ceftaroline, and cefotaxime, was determined using standard methods. Time-kill assays were conducted to assess the synergistic and additive effects of ampicillin in combination with ceftriaxone or ceftaroline. Results: Time-kill studies revealed that ampicillin combined with ceftaroline demonstrated synergistic and/or additive effects in 7 out of 10 strains analyzed. In contrast, ampicillin combined with ceftriaxone showed less pronounced synergy, with only 3 out of 10 strains exhibiting synergistic and/or additive effects. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that ampicillin combined with ceftaroline, or ceftriaxone provides synergistic activity against some but not all ASEfm clinical isolates. The observed synergy suggests that these combinations could offer a potential therapeutic option for challenging ASEfm infections.
Grants:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III FI20/00009 Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI24/01294 Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI19/01911 Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI17/01251
Note:	Altres ajuts: J. M. M. received a personal 80:20 research grant from Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain, during 2017–19. O. G. received a personal research grant from the Pla estratègic de recerca i innovació en salut (PERIS) 2019–2021 (Departament de Salut. Generalitat de Catalunya). Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad).
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Ampicillin ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteremia ; Ceftaroline ; Ceftriaxone ; Cephalosporins ; Drug Synergism ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Enterococcus faecium ; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Microbial Viability
Published in:	Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, Vol. 80, Num. 10 (October 2025) , p. 2622-2629, ISSN 1460-2091

DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkaf226
PMID: 40794810

8 p, 1.9 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles