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Updated: Aug 28, 2026

Growing a Cystic Fibrosis-Relevant Polymicrobial Biofilm to Probe Community Phenotypes
Published on: April 19, 2024
Clinical Outcomes and Healthcare Resource Utilization Results Among Hospitalized Adults with Cystic Fibrosis Treated
Emre Yucel1, Alex Soriano2, Florian Thalhammer3
1Merck & Co., Inc., 351 North Sumneytown Pike, P.O. Box 1000, North Wales, PA 19454, USA.
Abstract:
Background: Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) experience recurrent infections requiring repeated antimicrobial therapy, leading to high rates of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and contributing substantially to disease-related mortality. Ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) is an innovative therapy used to treat resistant Gram-negative infections, with enhanced activity against P. aeruginosa infections. Methods: The Study of Prescribing patterns and Effectiveness of Ceftolozane/Tazobactam Real-world Analysis (SPECTRA) was a multicenter, retrospective real-world study of hospitalized adults who received ≥48 h of C/T across seven countries. Medical record data were collected for up to 6 months before treatment and 30 days after the final C/T dose (or death). This subgroup analysis describes clinical outcomes and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) among hospitalized adults with CF who received C/T for an index infection. Results: Of 64 patients with CF, 53.1% had MDR P. aeruginosa. Clinical success was achieved in 78.1% of patients, with highest and lowest success rates in patients treated with C/T as second (100%) and sixth or later (40.0%) treatment. Microbial eradication was reported in 10.9% of patients. In-hospital mortality occurred in 14.1% of patients, with the lowest percentage in patients treated with C/T as first or second line treatment (0.0%) and the highest in patients treated with C/T sixth or later (40.0%). Median LOS was 31.5 days. Readmission (30-day all-cause) occurred in 10.9% of patients. Conclusions: In this SPECTRA subgroup analysis, C/T was associated with favorable real-world clinical outcomes among hospitalized adults with CF treated for an index infection. Interpretation is limited by the retrospective design, heterogeneous infection indications/sites, and limited interpretability of microbiologic endpoints in CF.
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