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Evaluation of meropenem alone and combined with rifampin in the guinea pig model of pneumococcal meningitis

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Abstract

Meropenem is a broad-spectrum carbapenem antibiotic that is highly active against the pathogens causing meningitis. The aims of this study was to determine the efficacies of meropenem alone and combined with rifampin against two Streptococcus pneumoniae strains with different susceptibility to β-lactams using the guinea pig meningitis model and compare them with the standard ceftriaxone plus vancomycin therapy. All treatments except rifampin were bactericidal from 6 h. The addition of rifampin did not improve the activity of meropenem alone. Our results provide good evidence of the efficacy of meropenem in the treatment of penicillin- and cephalosporin-susceptible and -resistant pneumococcal meningitis similar to that of ceftriaxone plus vancomycin, suggesting that meropenem might be a good option in the management of this infection.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a research grant from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS 02/069) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Sanidad, Spain. A. Doménech and F. Taberner were supported by grants from the Universitat de Barcelona and S. Ribes was supported by the same FIS grant. All authors are members of the Spanish Network for the Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI CO3/14 and REIPI RD06/0008). None of the authors received commercial support. All experiments were performed complying with current legislation for animal models (decree 214/1997 DOGC 7th August and RD 1201/2005 10th October).

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  1. Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain

    E. Force, F. Taberner, C. Cabellos, S. Ribes, A. Doménech, F. Tubau, P. F. Viladrich & F. Gudiol

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  1. E. Force
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  2. F. Taberner
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  3. C. Cabellos
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  4. S. Ribes
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  5. A. Doménech
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  6. F. Tubau
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  7. P. F. Viladrich
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  8. F. Gudiol
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Correspondence to C. Cabellos.

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Force, E., Taberner, F., Cabellos, C. et al. Evaluation of meropenem alone and combined with rifampin in the guinea pig model of pneumococcal meningitis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 28, 807–811 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-009-0711-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-009-0711-y

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