Combinations of cefoxitin plus other β-lactams are synergistic in vitro against community associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

R. Banerjee, M. G. Fernandez, N. Enthaler, C. Graml, K. E. Greenwood-Quaintance, R. Patel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

In vitro studies demonstrate that oxacillin minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains USA300 and 400 decrease in the presence of cefoxitin. The aim of this study was to characterize the activity of cefoxitin plus β-lactams against a collection of MRSA isolates. We assessed the in vitro antimicrobial activity of a selection of β-lactams alone and together with subinhibitory concentrations of cefoxitin against a collection of MRSA, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), and vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA) isolates using MICs and time kill assays. For community-associated (CA) MRSA strains USA300 and USA400, MICs of nafcillin, cefazolin, cephalexin, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone and cefotaxime decreased by 8- to 64-times in the presence of 10 μg/ml cefoxitin. In contrast, for hospital-associated (HA) strains COLn, N315, and Mu50, there was no change in any β-lactam MIC in the presence of cefoxitin. When combined with cefoxitin, the cephalexin MIC decreased for eight CA-MRSA and five MSSA sequence types but did not change for seven HA-MRSA sequence types. β-lactam/cefoxitin combinations were synergistic against CA- but not HA-MRSA strains in time kill assays. Cefoxitin combined with a variety of β-lactams enhances their activity against CA-MRSA strains in vitro. Further studies of combination β-lactam therapy may provide insight into β-lactam biology, penicillin binding protein cooperativity, and novel therapeutic strategies against MRSA.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)827-833
Number of pages7
JournalEuropean Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Volume32
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

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