Antibiotics Show Promise at Eradicating Colonies of CRE

According to a new study, a powerful antibiotic has been shown to be effective at eliminating colonies of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, in asymptomatic carriers.

During the study, 152 patients in an Israeli hospital were either given oral gentamicin, oral colistin, a combination of the two, or no antibiotics. The antibiotics had an average 44 percent success rate in eradicating CRE colonization. Of the two drugs, colistin performed better, at 50 percent. Among the control group, only 7 percent of patients had their CRE colonization eradicated.

Eradicating the colonies of CRE also improved mortality rates. The mortality rate was 17 percent among patients whose CRE was eradicated and 49 percent among others.

The CDC has warned that about half of all people with CRE bloodstream infections die. The agency has identified CRE as an urgent public health threat and named nursing facilities among the settings at highest risk.

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