Exposure to commonly prescribed non- antimicrobial drugs is associated with infection with antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, according to a study presented at the annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Researchers used electronic health record data to assess exposure to 22 non- antimicrobial drug classes prior to hospital ad- mission for 1,807 patients admitted at a tertiary- level academic hospital (from January 1, 2017 to April 18, 2019) with a diagnosis of upper uri- nary tract infection and positive urine or blood culture growing Enterobacteriaceae. They identi- fied drug-resistant organisms (DROs) in 52.2% of episodes, while multi-DROs (resistant to three or more classes) were identified in 23.8% of epi- sodes. Exposure to seven drug classes was associ- ated with DROs, and three drug classes (proton pump inhibitors [PPIs], beta-blockers, and an- timetabolites) were significantly associated with multi-DROs. There was a significant association observed between exposure to beta-blockers, PPIs, and antimetabolites and resistance to third gener- ation cephalosporins, trimethoprim-sulfamethox- azole, and fluoroquinolones, when accounting for antimicrobial drug exposure and previous hospi- talization. “We urgently need larger studies with more drug classes to confirm the discovery and to clarify the biological link between common pre- scription drugs and antibiotic resistance,” a study co-author said in a statement.
