The combination of aztreonam (ATM) and avibactam (AVI) is an attractive option to treat infections caused by extended spectrum β-lactamase plus NDM-1-producing
Enterobacteriaceae
. Since ATM activity was shown to be severely impacted by an increase in the inoculum size
in vitro
, we wondered whether ATM-AVI activity could be impaired in high-inoculum infections. We analyzed the impact of the inoculum size on ATM-AVI activity
in vitro
and in a murine model of peritonitis due to susceptible
Escherichia coli
CFT073-pTOPO and its isogenic derivatives producing NDM-1 (
E. coli
CFT073-NDM1) and CTX-M-15 plus NDM-1 (
E. coli
CFT073-CTXM15-NDM1). The impact of the inoculum size on bacterial morphology was studied by microscopic examination.
In vitro
, at standard (10
5
) inoculum,
E. coli
CFT073-CTXM15-NDM1 was resistant to ATM but susceptible to the ATM-AVI combination. At high (10
7
) inoculum, MICs of ATM alone and of the ATM-AVI combination reached >512 and 64 mg/L, respectively, against all tested strains. ATM led to bacterial filamentation when active against the bacteria, i.e., in monotherapy or in combination with AVI against susceptible
E. coli
CFT073-pTOPO and only in combination with AVI against
E. coli
CFT073-CTXM15-NDM1.
In vivo
, increase in the inoculum led to a drastic decrease in the activity of ATM alone against
E. coli
CFT073-pTOPO and ATM-AVI against
E. coli
CFT073-CTXM15-NDM1. Our results suggest a high
in vivo
impact of the inoculum increase on the activity of ATM alone against ATM-susceptible
E. coli
and of ATM-AVI against CTX-M-15 plus NDM-1 producing
E. coli
. Clinicians must be aware of the risk of failures when using ATM-AVI in high-inoculum infections.