Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: in pursuit of an effective treatment

摘要

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) has gained global notoriety as a critically important nosocomial pathogen. It mostly affects debilitated patients, causing pneumonia and bloodstream infections with high mortality rates. Difficulties in treating CRAB infections stem from a formidable resistance profile that leaves available only a few antibiotics of uncertain efficacy such as colistin and tigecycline. Despite the relentless attempts to improve therapeutic approaches (as depicted in colistin-oriented randomized clinical trials and the numerous observational studies), progress is still limited.