Vancomycin and clarithromycin show synergy against Mycobacterium abscessus in vitro

Abstract

Lung disease caused by Mycobacterium abscessus is increasing, and current clarithromycin-based treatment regimens are only moderately effective. Here, we determined the effect of clarithromycin-vancomycin combination against M. abscessus complex isolates in vitro. Synergy was found with a fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) score of ≤0.5 and a 4- to 10-fold decrease in MIC.