Susceptibility of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus to antimicrobial drugs, alone and combined, with and without defibrinated human blood.

Twenty-five clinical isolates of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus were examined for susceptibility to 14 antimicrobial drugs. In terms of inhibitory and bactericidal activities, imipenem and polymyxin B were most active, followed by amikacin and ceftazidime. Four isolates were resistant against fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin). The isolates varied in susceptibility to aztreonam, cefotaxime, cotrimoxazole, gentamicin, mezlocillin, netilmicin and piperacillin. Fresh defibrinated human blood from 3 donors revealed similar killing kinetics against 8 selected isolates. In time-kill curve experiments, human blood enhanced the activity of amikacin more than that of ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin and imipenem against A. calcoaceticus. The combinations of amikacin + imipenem and amikacin + ceftazidime in the presence of human blood were effective against this microorganism. Human blood combined with ciprofloxacin + imipenem was more effective than blood with added ceftazidime + ciprofloxacin.