Recent trends in resistance to cell envelope-active antibacterial agents among key bacterial pathogens

Cell envelope-active agents, particularly β-lactams, play a pivotal role in the treatment of bacterial infections and the extent to which their activity is affected by the emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms is of concern. We analyzed the Surveillance Network (TSN) database to evaluate resistant trends for key cell envelope-active drugs among ESKAPE pathogens. Analysis demonstrated that the activity of these drugs has been notably influenced by the emergence of multidrug resistance; this was especially evident for the β-lactam drugs. For example, Acinetobacter baumannii resistance to imipenem increased from 23.9% to 34.3%, and resistance to piperacillin-tazobactam increased from 37.0% to 49.7% between 2007 and 2011. During the same time period Klebsiella pneumoniae resistance to imipenem increased from 0.8% to 3.8%. As β-lactams are a cornerstone of anti-infective therapy, it is important to closely monitor the activity of the agents being used today and to aggressively pursue new strategies that can augment current drugs and thwart ever-emerging β-lactam resistance mechanisms that are continuously encountered.