In Vitro Assessment and Multicenter Cohort Study of Comparative Nephrotoxicity Rates Associated with Colistimethate versus Polymyxin B Therapy

Despite concerns of nephrotoxicity, polymyxin antibiotics often remain the only susceptible agents for multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria. Colistin has been more commonly used clinically due to a perceived safety benefit. We compared the nephrotoxicity of colistin to polymyxin B. The in vitro cytotoxicity of colistin was compared to polymyxin B in two mammalian renal cell lines. To validate the clinical relevance of the findings, we evaluated adult patients with normal renal function who received a minimum of 72 h of polymyxin therapy in a multicenter study. The primary outcome was the prevalence of nephrotoxicity, as defined by the RIFLE (risk, injury, failure, loss, end-stage kidney disease) criteria. Colistin exhibited an in vitro cytotoxicity profile similar to polymyxin B. A total of 225 patients (121 receiving colistimethate, 104 receiving polymyxin B) were evaluated. Independent risk factors for colistimethate-associated nephrotoxicity included age (odds ratio [OR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.07; P = 0.03), duration of therapy (OR 1.08; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.15; P = 0.02), and daily dose by ideal body weight (OR 1.40; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.88; P = 0.02). In contrast, cystic fibrosis was found to be a protective factor in patients who received colistimethate (OR, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.001 to 0.79; P = 0.04). In a matched analysis based on the risk factors identified (n = 76), the prevalence of nephrotoxicity was higher with colistimethate than with polymyxin B (55.3% versus 21.1%; P = 0.004). Polymyxin B was not found to be more nephrotoxic than colistin and may be the preferred polymyxin for MDR infections. A prospective study comparing the two polymyxins directly is warranted.