A synergic action of colistin, imipenem, and silver nanoparticles against pandrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from patients

Jamal M Khaled; Naiyf S Alharbi; Muhammad Z Siddiqi; Ahmed S Alobaidi; Khaled Nauman; Salah Alahmedi; Abeer O Almazyed; Meshari A Almosallam; Abdullah N Al Jurayyan

doi:10.1016/j.jiph.2021.09.015

A synergic action of colistin, imipenem, and silver nanoparticles against pandrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from patients

J Infect Public Health. 2021 Nov;14(11):1679-1685. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2021.09.015. Epub 2021 Sep 23.

Authors

Jamal M Khaled¹, Naiyf S Alharbi², Muhammad Z Siddiqi³, Ahmed S Alobaidi², Khaled Nauman², Salah Alahmedi², Abeer O Almazyed⁴, Meshari A Almosallam⁴, Abdullah N Al Jurayyan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box 4255, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: gkhaled@ksu.edu.sa.
² Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box 4255, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Biotechnology, Hankyong National University, 327 Jungang-ro Anseong-Si, Gyeonggi-do 17579, South Korea.
⁴ Microbiology Department, King Fahd Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 34627065
DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2021.09.015

Abstract

Background: The upgrowth and rapid prevalence of pandrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains that have a pathogenic activity to cause several infections are of considerable influence on the health of communities worldwide. No infections by these bacterial strains were recorded before 1998, and currently, the numbers are on the rise.

Methods: The A. baumannii strains were isolated from male and female patients in Medical Microbiology Department, King Fahd Medical City (KFMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 1/1/2020 to 29/12/2020. The statistical analysis was performed base on sex, age, source of samples, and response to commercially available antibiotics. The A. baumannii strains that resisted all the antibiotics including colistin and imipenem were selected for the synergic test.

Results: The data showed that 62.28%, 77.07% of 342 A. baumannii strains were isolated from males and patients over 35 years of age. A. baumannii strains (pandrug-A. baumannii) that can resist all tested antibiotics were 8.19%. The major source of the A. baumannii isolates was the respiratory system (>50%). Among all isolates (N = 342), azidothymidine-resistant A. baumannii strains were more than 85%. There is a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) in the number of colistin-resistant A. baumannii strains isolated from males comparing with the female. The combinations of colistin and silver nanoparticles or imipenem and silver nanoparticles resulted in synergistic action led to reduction of MICs of colistin, imipenem, and silver nanoparticles (more than four-fold reduction). Also, the combinations of colistin and imipenem had high synergistic action.

Conclusion: The pandrug-resistant A. baumannii strains may represent a current and future threat that must be fought, and the synergy action of antibiotics and nanoparticles may be one of the available, rapid, and easy strategies to confront this global problem.

Keywords: A. baumannii; Colistin; FIC index; Imipenem; MIC; Pandrug-resistant; Silver nanoparticles; Synergy.

MeSH terms

Acinetobacter Infections* / drug therapy
Acinetobacter Infections* / epidemiology
Acinetobacter baumannii*
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Colistin / pharmacology
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
Drug Synergism
Female
Humans
Imipenem / pharmacology
Male
Metal Nanoparticles*
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Silver / pharmacology

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Silver
Imipenem
Colistin