Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33420382›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of antibiotics2021

Comparison of two-drug combinations, amikacin/tigecycline/imipenem and amikacin/tigecycline/clarithromycin against Mycobacteroides abscessus subsp. abscessus using the in vitro time-kill assay.

Elena Portell-Buj, Queralt Bonet-Rossinyol, Alexandre López-Gavín, Angely Roman, Mariana Fernández-Pittol, Griselda Tudó, Julian Gonzalez-Martin

Open access · hybridAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of antibiotics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A systematic review of tetracyclines for nontuberculous mycobacteria: focus on rapidly growing mycobacteria.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. The Role of β-Lactam Antibiotics in Treating Mycobacterium abscessus: From Laboratory Insights to Clinical Applications and the Case for Clinical Trials.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026
    Review
  3. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Elena Portell-BujDepartament de Fonaments Clínics, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Servei de Microbiologia, CDB, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-ISGlobal, c/ Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
Queralt Bonet-RossinyolServei de Microbiologia, CDB, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-ISGlobal, Departament de Fonaments Clínics, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, c/ Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
Alexandre López-GavínServei de Microbiologia, CDB, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-ISGlobal, Departament de Fonaments Clínics, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, c/ Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
Angely RomanServei de Microbiologia, CDB, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-ISGlobal, Departament de Fonaments Clínics, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, c/ Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
Mariana Fernández-PittolServei de Microbiologia, CDB, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-ISGlobal, Departament de Fonaments Clínics, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, c/ Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
Griselda Tudó *Departament de Fonaments Clínics, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Servei de Microbiologia, CDB, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-ISGlobal, c/ Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
Julian Gonzalez-Martin *Servei de Microbiologia, CDB, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-ISGlobal, Departament de Fonaments Clínics, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, c/ Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain. gonzalez@clinic.cat.
Barcelona Institute for Global Health · ESUniversitat de Barcelona · ESHospital Clínic de Barcelona · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Nontuberculous mycobacteria include 198 mycobacterial species. Among these, Mycobacteroides abscessus is a rapidly growing mycobacteria that causes lung and skin infections. M. abscessus lung infections are difficult to treat due to the high levels of resistance to several classes of antibiotics. The current treatment is based on combining at least two or three antibiotics. However, treatment outcomes remain very poor. The objective was to compare the in vitro activity of amikacin, tigecycline, imipenem, and clarithromycin, alone and in two different three-drug combinations (amikacin/tigecycline/imipenem and amikacin/tigecycline/clarithromycin) against seven M. abscessus subsp. abscessus clinical isolates using the time-kill assay. The two combinations showed greater activity than the antibiotics tested individually. Even though both combinations showed similar activity as well as no antagonistic activity, the combination including imipenem could not be an alternative treatment against M. abscessus subsp. abscessus lung infections caused by clarithromycin susceptible isolates. However, this combination could be considered against clarithromycin resistant isolates. Future studies are necessary to confirm this hypothesis.

Indexed as

AmikacinAnti-Bacterial AgentsClarithromycinColony Count, MicrobialDrug CombinationsHumansImipenemMicrobial Sensitivity TestsMycobacterium abscessusMycobacterium Infections, NontuberculousTigecyclineAmikacinAnti-Bacterial AgentsClarithromycinDrug CombinationsImipenemTigecycline

Identifiers

PMID33420382
PMCPMC8005373
OpenAlexW3118296749

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.