Activities of three quinolones, alone and in combination with extended-spectrum cephalosporins or gentamicin, against Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

The present study examined the activities of trovafloxacin, levofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin, atone and in combination with cefoperazone, ceftazidime, cefpirome, and gentamicin, against 100 strains of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia by the MIC determination method and by synergy testing of the combinations by the time-kill and checkerboard titration methods for 20 strains. The respective MICs at which 50% and 90% of isolates were inhibited for the drugs used alone were as follows: trovafloxacin, 0.5 and 2.0 mu g/ml; levofloxacin, 2.0 and 4.0 mu g/ml; ciprofloxacin, 4.0 and 16.0 mu g/ml; cefoperazone, >128.0 and >128.0 mu g/ml; ceftazidime, 32.0 and >128.0 mu g/ml; cefpirome, >128.0 and >128.0 mu g/ml; and gentamicin, 128.0 and >128.0 mu g/ml. Synergistic fractional inhibitory concentration indices (less than or equal to 0.5) were found for greater than or equal to 50% of strains for trovafloxacin-cefoperazone, trovafloxacin ceftazidime, levofloxacin-cefoperazone, levofloxacin-ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin-cefoperazone, and ciprofloxacin-ceftazidime, with other combinations affecting fewer strains. For 20 strains tested by the checkerboard titration and time-kill methods, synergy (greater than or equal to 100-fold drop in count compared to the count achieved with the more active compound) was more pronounced after 12 h due to regrowth after 24 h, At 12 h, trovafloxacin at 0.004 to 0.5 mu g/ml showed synergy with cefoperazone for 90% of strains, with ceftazidime for 95% of strains with cefpirome for 95% of strains, and with gentamicin for 65% of strains. Levofloxacin at 0.03 to 0.5 mu g/ml and ciprofloxacin at 0.5 to 2.0 mu g/ml showed synergy with cefoperazone for 80% of strains, with ceftazidime for 90 and 85% of strains, respectively, with cefpirome for 85 and 75% of strains, respectively, and with gentamicin for 65 and 75% of strains, respectively. Time-kill assays were more discriminatory than checkerboard titration assays in demonstrating synergy for all combinations.