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Infections resulting from Mycobacterium abscessus are increasing in prevalence worldwide, with the greatest risk posed to patients with underlying respiratory conditions. Treatment for infections is difficult due to wide ranging intrinsic antimicrobial resistance, which is compounded by the existence of a range of subspecies within the M. abscessus complex, each with varying additional antimicrobial resistance profiles. Previously, the use of β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitors within a combination therapy has been proposed as an effective treatment option for pulmonary M. abscessus infections. Here, we assess the in vitro efficacy of two non-β-lactam based inhibitors, relebactam and avibactam, as agents against M. abscessus with their respective partner drugs imipenem and ceftazidime, as well as in triplicate combinations with additional β-lactam antibiotics against the M. abscessus complex. We have shown that the commercially available ratio of imipenem to relebactam is the appropriate ratio for bactericidal activity against M. abscessus , whereas the ratio between ceftazidime and avibactam is redundant, due to inactivity of ceftazidime to inhibit the bacteria. We have identified that the use of imipenem and meropenem alongside either relebactam or avibactam yield low minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) for each M. abscessus subspecies, which are within the therapeutically achievable concentration ranges within the epithelial lining fluid of the lungs. We propose the implementation of imipenem with relebactam in place of stand-alone imipenem into the current treatment regime, alongside meropenem, as a future front-line treatment option for M. abscessus complex infections.

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Our aim for this special issue of Cultural Studies—Critical Methodologies is to engage with current influential texts in Science Studies, addressing the urgent need to rethink the role of the sciences in transdisciplinary possibilities for social inquiry. In this introductory essay, we underscore the political stakes of this kind of work, and we focus on a few key themes that run across the collected articles, situated as they are within what scientists call the Anthropocene.

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