Non-Antimicrobial Drugs Tied to Drug-Resistant Bacterial Infection

MONDAY, July 19, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Exposure to commonly prescribed non-antimicrobial drugs is associated with infection with antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, according to a study presented at the annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, held virtually from July 9 to 12.

Meital Elbaz, M.D., from the Tel Aviv Medical Center in Israel, and colleagues used electronic health record data to assess exposure to 22 non-antimicrobial drug classes prior to hospital admission for 1,807 patients admitted at a tertiary-level academic hospital (Jan. 1, 2017, to April 18, 2019) with a diagnosis of upper urinary tract infection and positive urine or blood culture growing Enterobacteriaceae.

The researchers identified drug-resistant organisms (DROs) in 52.2 percent of episodes, while multi-DROs (resistant to three or more classes) were identified in 23.8 percent of episodes. Exposure to seven drug classes was associated with DROs, and three drug classes (proton pump inhibitors [PPIs], beta-blockers, and antimetabolites) were significantly associated with multi-DROs. There was a significant association observed between exposure to beta-blockers, PPIs, and antimetabolites and resistance to third-generation cephalosporins, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and fluoroquinolones, when accounting for antimicrobial drug exposure and previous hospitalization.

“We urgently need larger studies with more drug classes to confirm the discovery and to clarify the biological link between common prescription drugs and antibiotic resistance,” Elbaz said in a statement.

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