Amoxicillin-clavulanate Breakpoints Against Enterobacterales: Rationale for Revision by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute

Clin Infect Dis. 2024 Apr 16:ciae201. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciae201. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Amoxicillin-clavulanate (AMC) is among the most frequently prescribed antibiotics globally. It has broad antibacterial activity against gram-positive, gram-negative, and anaerobic bacteria, and has been utilized to treat infections caused by a broad range of pathogens. AMC breakpoints against Enterobacterales were initially set in the 1980s but since then increases in antibiotic resistance, advances in pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) analyses, and publication of additional clinical data prompted a reassessment by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Subcommittee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing. Based on this contemporary reappraisal, the CLSI retained the Enterobacterales breakpoints but revised comments regarding dosing associated with use of the AMC breakpoints in the 2022 supplement of M100. This viewpoint provides insight into the CLSI breakpoint reevaluation process and summarizes the data and rationale used to support these revisions to the AMC Enterobacterales breakpoint.

Keywords: CLSI; amoxicillin clavulanate; antimicrobial susceptibility testing; pharmacodynamics; pharmacokinetics; susceptibility.