Optimizing Empiric Antibiotic Therapy in Patients with Severe β-Lactam Allergy

Antibiotic selection is challenging in patients with severe beta-lactam allergy due to declining reliability of alternate antibiotics. Organisms isolated from these patients may exhibit unique resistance phenotypes. The objective of this study was to determine which alternate antibiotics or combinations provide adequate empirical therapy for patients with beta-lactam allergy who develop Gram-negative infections at our institution. We further sought to determine the effects of risk factors for drug resistance on empirical adequacy. A retrospective analysis was conducted for adult patients hospitalized from September 2009 to May 2010 who had a severe beta-lactam allergy and a urine, blood, or respiratory culture positive for a Gram-negative organism and who met predefined criteria for infection. Patient characteristics, culture and susceptibility data, and predefined risk factors for antibiotic resistance were collected. Adequacies of beta-lactam and alternate antibiotics were compared for all infections and selected subsets. The primary outcome was adequacy of each alternate antibiotic or combination for all infections. One hundred sixteen infections (40 pneumonias, 67 urinary tract infections, and 9 bacteremias) were identified. Single alternate agents were adequate less frequently than beta-lactams and combination regimens. Only in cases without risk factors for resistance did single-agent regimens demonstrate acceptable adequacy rates; each factor conferred a doubling of risk for resistance. Resistance risk factors should be considered in selecting empirical antibiotics for Gram-negative pathogens in patients unable to take beta-lactams due to severe allergy.