Risk of acute kidney injury in patients treated with vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam compared to vancomycin and meropenem or doripenem: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

It has been reported that the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) is higher during treatment with vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam compared to use of vancomycin and cefepim or meropenem. We investigated the risk of AKI in patients receiving vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam versus those receiving vancomycin and meropenem or doripenem. The subjects were patients over 18 years old who received either vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam (V ＋ P/T therapy) or vancomycin and carbapenems (meropenem or doripenem) (V ＋ C therapy) for at least 48 h between 1 May 2013 and 28 February 2019. The primary endpoint was the incidence of AKI in patients receiving V ＋ P/T or V ＋ C therapy, while the secondary outcome was the timing of AKI in each group. The incidence of AKI was 33.3％(9/27) in patients receiving V ＋ P/T therapy versus 9.1％ (5/55) in those receiving V ＋ C therapy, and its incidence was significantly higher with the former regimen (x2 ＝ 5.90, p ＝ 0.015). Multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed that V ＋ P/T therapy was associated with an increased risk of AKI compared to V ＋ C therapy (adjusted odds ratio: 5.05, 95％confidence interval: 1.46-17.5, p ＝ 0.01). The time to onset of AKI after initiation of treatment was not significantly diŠerent between patients receiving V ＋ T/P or V ＋ C therapy [median (interquartile range): 4 d (2-6 d) versus 7 d (3-10 d); p ＝ 0.282]. V ＋ P/T therapy was associated with a significantly higher incidence of AKI than alternative regimens, suggesting that it should be avoided. When broad spectrum antibacterial therapy is required, V ＋ C therapy should be considered instead.