title: Current concepts in combination antibiotic therapy for critically ill patients.
abstract: Widespread emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens is a problem of global dimension. MDR infections are difficult to treat and frequently associated with high mortality. More than one antibiotic is commonly used to treat such infections, but scientific evidence does not favor use of combination therapy in most cases. However, there are certain subgroups where combination therapy may be beneficial, e.g. sepsis due to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia, and patients with multiple organ failure. Well-designed prospective studies are needed to clearly define the role of combination therapy in these subgroups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Afzal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Azim
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gurjar
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Arvind Kumar
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Baronia
keywords: Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae; Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase; combination antibiotic therapy; sepsis