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- H D Tootla, J Copelyn, A Botha, A J Brink, and B Eley.
- Microbiology Laboratory, National Health Laboratory Service, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, and Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa. hafsah.tootla@nhls.ac.za.
- S. Afr. Med. J. 2021 Aug 2; 111 (8): 729-731.
AbstractThe newer beta-lactam-inhibitor combination (BLIC) antibiotics are available in South Africa (SA) for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales infections. We describe the successful use of ceftazidime-avibactam (CA) for the treatment of a child with persistent carbapenem-resistant Serratia marcescens bacteraemia, and the challenges faced using this lifesaving antibiotic, including access to susceptibility testing, procurement process, cost and complexity of deciding when, how and for how long to use it. Furthermore, the burden of carbapenem resistance is increasing in SA, and inappropriate use of CA and other newer BLIC antibiotics, such as ceftolozane-tazobactam, will inevitably endanger their longevity. A careful balance must be struck between removing unnecessary obstacles and delays in initiating these antibiotics for life-threatening infections, and additional antimicrobial stewardship-guided interventions aimed at preserving their therapeutic use.
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