Pragmatic Comparison of Piperacillin/Tazobactam versus Carbapenems in Treating Patients with Nosocomial Pneumonia Caused by Extended-Spectrum beta-Lactamase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae

The effectiveness of piperacillin/tazobactam for managing nosocomial pneumonia caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae is unknown. To answer this question, we conducted a retrospective cohort study in two tertiary teaching hospitals of patients admitted between January 2018 and July 2021 with a diagnosis of nosocomial pneumonia caused by ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae receiving either piperacillin/tazobactam or carbapenems within 24 h from the onset of pneumonia for at least 72 h. Clinical outcomes, including 28-day mortality and 14-day clinical and microbiological cure, were analyzed. Of the 136 total patients, 64 received piperacillin/tazobactam and 72 received carbapenems. The overall 28-day mortality was 19.1% (26/136). In the inverse probability of treatment weighted cohort, piperacillin/tazobactam therapy was not associated with worse clinical outcomes, as the 28-day mortality (OR, 0.82, 95% CI, 0.23-2.87, p = 0.748), clinical cure (OR, 0.94, 95% CI, 0.38-2.35, p = 0.894), and microbiological cure (OR, 1.10, 95% CI, 0.53-2.30, p = 0.798) were comparable to those of carbapenems. Subgroup analyses also did not demonstrate any statistical differences. In conclusion, piperacillin/tazobactam could be an effective alternative to carbapenems for treating nosocomial pneumonia due to ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae when the MICs are <= 8 mg/L.