Real-world study of Ceftazidime-Avibactam for the treatment of disease caused by bacteria: a plain language summary

What is this summary about? This is a summary of a study originally published in the journal Infectious Diseases and Therapy. Bacteria are a group of organisms that are not visible to the naked eye. Some bacteria can cause disease and death in people. Bacteria are often treated with a type of medicine called an antibiotic. Sometimes, bacteria can become ‘resistant’ to particular medicines, including antibiotics. This means that the medicine is not able to kill the bacteria and stop the infection. As a result, patients have to stay longer in hospital for treatment. This may lead to disability, loss of money and death. Ceftazidime-Avibactam (CAZ–AVI) is a medicine that can kill bacteria. It is used to treat disease caused by bacteria resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Patients in hospitals in Europe and Latin America took part in the study. These patients were given CAZ–AVI for treating infections caused by bacteria. The study looked at the kind of bacterial infections for which CAZ-AVI was given to patients by doctors. What were the results? A total of 569 patients took part in the study. Most of the patients (516 out of 569) were treated for at least 3 days (72 hours). About 75% of patients (390 out of 516) received other medicines before being given CAZ-AVI for treatment. A roughly equal number of patients had infections in the abdomen, urinary tract, lungs, blood, or other parts of the body (about 20% each). About 65% of patients had infections with ‘resistant’ bacteria. CAZ-AVI was able to treat about 8 in 10 (77% or 399 out of 516) patients who were infected with bacteria. CAZ-AVI was able to treat patients with infections of the urinary tract better than those with other infections. About 9 in 10 patients (88% patients or 91 out of 103) who had infections in the urinary tract were treated by CAZ-AVI. A relatively small number of patients (1% or 6 out of 569) had side effects due to treatment with the medicine. A side effect is any outcome that happens apart from the reason for which the study medicine was given to patients. A side effect is always noted whether or not it is caused by the medicine. About 2 in 10 patients (23% or 119 out of 516 patients) died in hospital while under treatment. What do the results of the study mean? CAZ-AVI is one of the medicines that healthcare professionals can consider using to treat diseases caused by resistant bacteria.