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Colistin Enhances Rifampicin's Antimicrobial Action in Colistin-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms
Eva Armengol1,2, Kasper Nørskov Kragh1, Tim Tolker-Nielsen1
1Costerton Biofilm Center, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Abstract:
The emergence of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections has urged the need to find new strategies, such as the use of combinations of antibiotics. Among these, the combination of colistin with other antibiotics has been studied. Here, the action of combinations of colistin and rifampicin on both planktonic and sessile cells of colistin-resistant P. aeruginosa was studied. Dynamic biofilms were formed and treated with such a combination, resulting in an active killing effect of both colistin-resistant and colistin-susceptible P. aeruginosa in biofilms. The results suggest that the action of colistin on the outer membrane facilitates rifampicin penetration, regardless of the colistin-resistant phenotype. Based on these in vitro data, we propose a colistin-rifampicin combination as a promising treatment for infections caused by colistin-resistant P. aeruginosa.
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