New research from Monash University could lead to significant advances in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
“Two heads are better than one, that’s a saying that is oh so true… and between the two of you, you can solve any problem that come up” – Herry Monster, Sesame Street.
A new study led by researchers at Monash University suggests that using two common antibiotics can kill and prevent the spread of drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The research, published in The Lancet Microbe, saw researchers discover that a combination of ceftolozane-tazobactam and meropenem, two β-lactam antibiotics, outperform each antibiotic individually at killing bacteria and suppressing resistance in samples taken from infected patients.
These findings inspired researchers to use qualitative systems pharmacology (QSP), a mathematical model, to predict the likely outcomes if combinations of antibiotics were used in actual patients.
“The QSP modelling approach coupled with genomic analysis performed in hospitals could represent a step towards optimising and personalising antibiotic regimens against life-threatening infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” said Associate Professor Cornelia Landersdorfer, group leader of the Antimicrobial Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Dosage regimen optimisation research program at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and co-lead author on the new research.
“This research is important because previous approaches to selecting an antibiotic regimen do not account for important pre-existing bacterial characteristics, including mutations, that can influence resistance emergence in bacterial patient isolates of important pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa.”
Antimicrobial resistance is a leading international public health threat and led to over a million deaths in 2021. Resistance to antibiotics is occurring faster than new antibiotics can be developed, meaning that certain bacteria – including P. aeruginosa – have become resistant to all available antibiotics.
First author Dr Siobhonne Breen said P. aeruginosa could quickly develop resistance to new antibiotics if they are used as a single therapy, underscoring the need to identify combinations of antibiotics that are effective at killing the bacteria and preventing the development of further drug resistance.
