Nephrotoxicity of teicoplanin-based combination therapy: focus on piperacillin/tazobactam and other anti-pseudomonal β-lactams

Abstract

Abstract Background The concurrent use of vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam increases the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) compared with vancomycin use with other anti-pseudomonal β-lactams (OAPBs). Teicoplanin is a glycopeptide antibiotic with lower nephrotoxicity than that of vancomycin. Whether the concomitant use of teicoplanin and piperacillin/tazobactam also increases the risk of AKI remains unknown. Objectives To evaluate the AKI risk between teicoplanin–piperacillin/tazobactam and teicoplanin–OAPBs. Methods This was a retrospective, propensity score-matched cohort study. Adult patients receiving teicoplanin-based combination therapy were included. OAPBs included cefepime, cefoperazone/sulbactam, ceftazidime, doripenem, imipenem/cilastatin and meropenem. Propensity score matching was performed to balance demographic and confounding factors. The primary endpoint was AKI during combination therapy. Results After propensity score matching, 954 patients (teicoplanin–piperacillin/tazobactam: teicoplanin–OAPBs, 1:3 matched, 243 pairs in total) were included for analysis. The mean age was 66.3 years in the matched cohort and 17.1% of patients had shock. Use of nephrotoxic medications (45.7% versus 48.7%) and baseline renal function (78.88 ± 31.26 versus 81.05 ± 31.53 mL/min/1.73 m2) were similar in the two groups. The median teicoplanin dose was 10.7 mg/kg in both groups. The groups did not differ significantly in terms of AKI risk (14.8% versus 14.2%, P = 0.815). However, the time to AKI appeared shorter in the teicoplanin–piperacillin/tazobactam group (4.64 ± 2.33 versus 6.29 ± 4.72 days, P = 0.039). Conclusions The combination of teicoplanin and piperacillin/tazobactam was not associated with an increased risk of AKI compared with teicoplanin and OAPBs.