Risk Factors for the Development of Colistin Resistance during Colistin Treatment of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Infections

Colistin is one of the last-resort options for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections if novel antibiotics are unavailable, where the development of colistin resistance during treatment represents a major challenge for clinicians. We aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with the development of colistin resistance in patients with CRKP infections following colistin treatment. We conducted a retrospective case-control study of patients with CRKP strains available before and after colistin treatment at a medical center in Taiwan, between October 2016 and November 2020. Cases (n = 35) included patients with an initial colistin-susceptible CRKP (ColS-CRKP) strain and a subsequent colistin-resistant CRKP (ColR-CRKP) strain. Controls (n = 18) included patients with ColS-CRKP as both the initial and subsequent strains. The 30-day mortality rate after the subsequent CRKP isolation was not different between cases and controls (12/35 [34%] versus 5/18 [28%] [P = 0.631]). bla(KPC) (n = 38) and bla(OXA-48) (n = 11) accounted for the major mechanisms of carbapenem resistance. Alterations in mgrB were found in 18/35 (51%) ColR-CRKP strains, and mcr-1 was not detected in any of the strains. More patients received combination therapy in the control group than in the case group (17/18 versus 21/35 [P = 0.008]). The logistic regression model indicated that combination therapy with tigecycline was protective against the acquisition of colistin resistance (odds ratio, 0.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.05 to 0.62 [P = 0.008]). We observed that the inclusion of tigecycline in colistin treatment mitigated the risk of acquiring colistin resistance. These results offer insight into using the combination of tigecycline and colistin for the treatment of CRKP infections in antimicrobial stewardship. IMPORTANCE Treatment of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections is challenging due to the limited options of antibiotics. Colistin is one of the last-resort antibiotics if novel antimicrobial agents are not available. It is crucial to identify modifiable clinical factors associated with the emergence of resistance during colistin treatment. Here, we found that the addition of tigecycline to colistin treatment prevented the acquisition of colistin resistance. Colistin-tigecycline combination therapy is therefore considered a hopeful option in antimicrobial stewardship to treat CRKP infections.