Eradicating Pulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus: The Promise of Dual β-Lactam Therapy

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2023 Jun 8;10(6):ofad312. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofad312. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Abstract

Macrolide resistance has rendered the treatment of Mycobacterium abscessus extremely difficult and is fueling a crisis. Recently, there has been dramatically increased incidence of infections by M abscessus. Select dual β-lactam combinations have shown promising in vitro results. Herein, we present a patient whose M abscessus infection cured using dual β-lactams as part of multidrug regimen.

Keywords: Mycobacterium abscessus; dual β-lactams; macrolide resistance; peptidoglycans; resistant mycobacteria; β-lactams.