Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Jan;44(1):193-196.
doi: 10.1007/s10096-024-04986-6. Epub 2024 Nov 12.

Meropenem-vaborbactam as intrathecal-sparing therapy for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae shunt-related ventriculitis: two case reports and review of the literature

Gabriele Giuliano  1   2 , Margherita Sambo  3 , Paola Castellani  4 , Sara Benedetti  5 , Francesca Tarantino  4 , Mario Tumbarello  3   5
Affiliations
Review

Meropenem-vaborbactam as intrathecal-sparing therapy for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae shunt-related ventriculitis: two case reports and review of the literature

Gabriele Giuliano et al. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

Recently, an increase in cases of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria post-neurosurgical ventriculitis and meningitis is reported. Treating these infections has become challenging due to the limited availability of antibiotics and the need to select those with optimal pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles. There is limited evidence regarding the use of meropenem-vaborbactam in treating carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales infections of the central nervous system. We report two new cases of shunt-related ventriculitis due to carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae with a favorable microbiological evolution after IV only combination therapy with meropenem-vaborbactam.

Keywords: Difficult-to-treat infections; Intrathecal therapy; KPC-K. pneumoniae; Meropenem-vaborbactam; Shunt-related ventriculitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics statement: Clinical practices described have been approved by the Regional Ethics Committee for Clinical Trials of the Tuscany Region (Section: Area Vasta Sud-Est) with protocol number 26582. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Karvouniaris M, Brotis A, Tsiakos K, Palli E, Koulenti D (2022) Current perspectives on the diagnosis and management of Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis. Infect Drug Resist 15:697–721. https://doi.org/10.2147/IDR.S326456 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Li C, Zhou P, Liu Y, Zhang L (2023) Treatment of Ventriculitis and Meningitis after Neurosurgery caused by Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE): a challenging topic. Infect Drug Resist 16:3807–3818. https://doi.org/10.2147/IDR.S416948 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Tunkel AR, Hasbun R, Bhimraj A, Byers K, Kaplan SL, Scheld WM et al (2017) Infectious Diseases Society of America’s clinical practice guidelines for Healthcare-Associated Ventriculitis and Meningitis. Clin Infect Dis 64(6):e34–e65. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciw861 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Tumbarello M, Raffaelli F, Cascio A, Falcone M, Signorini L, Mussini C et al (2022) Compassionate use of meropenem/vaborbactam for infections caused by KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae: a multicentre study. JAC Antimicrob Resist 4(1):dlac022. https://doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlac022 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Tumbarello M, Raffaelli F, Giannella M, De Pascale G, Cascio A, De Rosa FG et al (2024) Outcomes and predictors of mortality in patients with KPC-Kp infections treated with Meropenem Vaborbactam: an Observational Multicenter Study. Open Forum Infect Dis 11(6):ofae273. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofae273 - DOI - PubMed - PMC

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources