Successful treatment of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ventriculitis with intrathecal and intravenous colistin

Minerva Anestesiol. 2010 Nov;76(11):957-60. Epub 2010 May 6.

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) nosocomial infections, especially those due to multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains, are increasingly detected. We report a case of a 42-year-old male patient affected by low-grade ependymoma who developed AB-MDR post-neurosurgical ventriculitis. Initially, because of in vitro susceptibility, we used a combination of intravenous colistin and tigecycline. This treatment resulted in the improvement of the patient's initial condition. However, soon after, the infection relapsed; tigecycline was stopped and treatment with intrathecal colistin was initiated. Cure was achieved by continuing this treatment for approximately three weeks, without adverse effects.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter Infections / drug therapy*
  • Acinetobacter Infections / pathology
  • Acinetobacter baumannii*
  • Adult
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Brain Neoplasms / surgery
  • Cerebral Ventriculitis / drug therapy*
  • Cerebral Ventriculitis / pathology
  • Colistin / therapeutic use*
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
  • Ependymoma / surgery
  • Humans
  • Injections, Intravenous
  • Injections, Spinal
  • Male
  • Postoperative Complications / drug therapy*
  • Postoperative Complications / microbiology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Colistin