Flucloxacillin worsens while imipenem-cilastatin protects against
vancomycin induced kidney injury in a translational rat model
Abstract
Background and Purpose Vancomycin is one of the most common antibiotics
administered in the hospital setting, yet acute kidney injury is a major
limiting factor. Common combinations of antibiotics with vancomycin have
been reported to worsen and improve vancomycin-induced kidney injury. We
aimed to study the impact of flucloxacillin and imipenem-cilastatin on
kidney injury when combined with vancomycin in our translational rat
model. Experimental Approach Male Sprague-Dawley rats received
allometrically scaled (1) vancomycin (2) flucloxacillin, (3)
vancomycin+flucloxacillin, (4) vancomycin+imipenem-cilastatin, or (5)
saline for 4 days. Vancomycin was administered intravenously and
flucloxacillin or imipenem-cilastatin were administered
intraperitoneally. Kidney injury was evaluated via drug accumulation and
urinary biomarkers including urinary output, kidney injury molecule-1
(KIM-1), clusterin, and osteopontin. Relationships between vancomycin
accumulation in the kidney and urinary kidney injury biomarkers were
explored. Key Results Urinary output increased every study day for
vancomycin+flucloxacillin; whereas in the vancomycin group it was
elevated after the first dose only. In the vancomycin+flucloxacillin
group, urinary KIM-1/24h increased on all days compared to vancomycin.
In the vancomycin+imipenem-cilastatin group, urinary KIM-1/24h was
decreased on days 1 and 2 compared to vancomycin. Similar trends were
observed for clusterin. More vancomycin accumulated in the kidney with
vancomycin+flucloxacillin compared to vancomycin and
vancomycin+imipenem-cilastatin. The accumulation of vancomycin in the
kidney tissue correlated with increasing urinary KIM-1 (4-parameter Hill
Slope, R2=0.7985). Conclusion and Implications Vancomycin+flucloxacillin
caused more kidney injury compared to vancomycin alone and
vancomycin+imipenem-cilastatin in a translational rat model as
determined by multiple kidney injury biomarkers. The combination of
vancomycin+imipenem-cilastatin was nephroprotective.