meropenem and Liver-Diseases

Meropenem is a new carbapenem antibiotic which differs chemically from imipenem/cilastatin by having a 1-beta-methyl substitution, providing it with excellent intrinsic stability to human renal dehydropeptidase-I. In addition, an altered 2' side chain enhances its anti-pseudomonal activity. The drug has one identified metabolite, a beta-lactam ring-opened form which is devoid of microbiological activity, as would be expected. The parent compound displays linear pharmacokinetics over a dose range of 250 mg to 2 g. The terminal half-life is approximately 1 hour and the plasma clearance is approximately 15.5 L/h/70 kg. The plasma concentrations after a 1 g dose show a trough concentration (8 hours) of slightly greater than 0.25 mg/L. The renal route is the major clearance pathway for this drug and its metabolite, with renal clearance accounting for approximately 70% of the plasma clearance and there being approximately 70% of an administered dose recovered in the urine as intact parent compound over 12 hours. When combined with metabolite, over 90% of administered radiolabel is recovered in the urine over this 12 hour period. As expected, renal functional impairment alters the clearance of meropenem, but the alteration is predictable. Hepatic functional impairment does not alter drug disposition and no dosing alterations are required here. In summary, meropenem's disposition is similar to that seen for imipenem/cilastatin, except that no renal dehydropeptidase-I inhibitor is required. When evaluated against the background of its excellent profile of in vitro activity, it is clear that this is a drug of great promise which should be extensively evaluated in clinical trials of seriously ill patients with nosocomial infections.

Topics: Animals; Biological Availability; Half-Life; Humans; Kidney; Kidney Diseases; Liver Diseases; Meropenem; Middle Aged; Thienamycins

We present here the case of a 62-year-old man, who was referred to the emergency department with fever and cough for 3 days. He underwent liver transplantation 4 years earlier due to HCV and NASH-related cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma. At admission he was in reduced general conditions. Nasopharyngeal smear specimen resulted positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Pulmonary low-dose CT-scan revealed bilateral subpleural ground-glass infiltrates. O2 saturation was 93%. A treatment with lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine twice daily was started. The patient received also cefepime and remained in isolation. Seven days later imaging showed a progression of the pulmonary infiltrates. Cefepime was replaced by meropenem. During the following 3 days the fever resolved, and the general conditions of the patient significantly improved. Consequently, treatment with lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine was stopped. The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 interstitial pneumonia in this immunosuppressed patient was moderate to severe and liver injury was not clinically significant. Despite its limitations, this case report confirm that the liver may be only mildly affected during SARS-CoV-2 infection, also in liver transplanted patients. Further studies are needed to assess whether the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection is worse in immunosuppressed patients than in the general population.

Topics: Antiviral Agents; Comorbidity; COVID-19; COVID-19 Drug Treatment; Humans; Hydroxychloroquine; Immunosuppression Therapy; Liver Diseases; Liver Transplantation; Lopinavir; Lung; Male; Meropenem; Middle Aged; Ritonavir; SARS-CoV-2

A 63-year-old man admitted to hospital for the management of a frontal lobe abscess developed elevated liver enzymes within 48 hours of receiving meropenem. Liver enzymes reached a maximum at 5 days postadministration of meropenem, with alanine aminotransferase 1160 U/L, aspartate aminotransferase 787 U/L, alkaline phosphatase 297 U/L and gamma-glutamyltransferase 252 U/L. Meropenem was ceased and liver function normalised. Meropenem was administered for a second time later in the patient's admission and again the patient developed rapidly increasing liver enzymes, with a mixed hepatocellular/cholestatic pattern. Other possible causes of liver injury were excluded following extensive investigations, and the patient's liver enzymes continued to normalise following meropenem discontinuation. The patient was asymptomatic during the admission and was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. This case demonstrates that meropenem can cause severe liver injury and that early recognition of drug-induced liver injury is important.

Topics: Administration, Intravenous; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Brain Abscess; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury; Early Diagnosis; Frontal Lobe; Humans; Liver; Liver Diseases; Male; Meropenem; Middle Aged

A 45-year-old man with dilated cardiomyopathy presented with acute leg pain and erythema suggestive of necrotising fasciitis. Initial surgical exploration revealed no necrosis and treatment for a soft tissue infection was started. Blood and tissue cultures unexpectedly grew a Gram-negative bacillus, subsequently identified by an automated broth microdilution phenotyping system as an extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Escherichia coli. The patient was treated with a 3-week course of antibiotics (ertapenem followed by ciprofloxacin) and debridement for small areas of necrosis, followed by skin grafting. The presence of E. coli triggered investigation of both host and pathogen. The patient was found to have previously undiagnosed liver disease, a risk factor for E. coli soft tissue infection. Whole genome sequencing of isolates from all specimens confirmed they were clonal, of sequence type ST131 and associated with a likely plasmid-associated AmpC (CMY-2), several other resistance genes and a number of virulence factors.

Topics: Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination; Anti-Bacterial Agents; beta-Lactams; Ciprofloxacin; Diagnosis, Differential; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Ertapenem; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Infections; Floxacillin; Follow-Up Studies; Genome, Bacterial; Gentamicins; Humans; Liver Diseases; Male; Meropenem; Middle Aged; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Soft Tissue Infections; Thienamycins; Treatment Outcome; Vancomycin

Most Salmonella infections are usually self-limited; however, some cases of enteritis result in bacteremia, and there have been reports of extra-intestinal manifestations. Cyst infections are rare, and few cases have been reported. We report a 77-year-old woman with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) complicated with a multiple liver cyst infection caused by Salmonella ajiobo. The patient was hospitalized for fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. The blood culture identified Salmonella sp., but the source of infection was not detected by computed tomography or echography. The patient was initially treated with meropenem followed by fluoroquinolones for 3 weeks; however, her C-reactive protein level was high (10-20 mg/dL) even after the antimicrobial therapy. The patient had a fever again on day 51, and Salmonella sp. was detected again from 2 sets of blood cultures. Despite the antimicrobial treatment, her general condition gradually deteriorated, and she died on day 66. The autopsy revealed that most of the liver had been replaced by cysts. Several cysts filled with pus were detected and Salmonella ajiobo was identified in the pus of the infected cysts.

Topics: Aged; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Aza Compounds; Cysts; Female; Fluoroquinolones; Humans; Liver Diseases; Meropenem; Moxifloxacin; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant; Quinolines; Salmonella; Salmonella Infections; Thienamycins; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Topics: Adult; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antiprotozoal Agents; Digestive System Fistula; Drainage; Gastric Fistula; Humans; Liver Abscess, Amebic; Liver Diseases; Male; Meropenem; Metronidazole; Rupture, Spontaneous; Thienamycins