In vitro activity of ceftaroline against clinical isolates of Gram-positive bacteria in paediatric patients: ATLAS programme 2018-2023.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of ceftaroline and comparator antimicrobials against clinical isolates of Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) from paediatric patients globally and in Africa/Middle East (AfME), Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe and Latin America (LATAM) as part of the Antimicrobial Testing Leadership and Surveillance programme between 2018 and 2023. METHODS: Susceptibility and minimum inhibitory concentrations of all organisms were determined using broth microdilution methodology for ceftaroline and comparators from Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) breakpoints. RESULTS: Overall and across regions, Staphylococcus aureus (CLSI/EUCAST, ≥99.0%) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CLSI, ≥95.6%) demonstrated high susceptibility to ceftaroline. High susceptibility to daptomycin, linezolid, teicoplanin, tigecycline (from the FDA), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and vancomycin was demonstrated against these isolates for both breakpoints. Globally and across regions, for Streptococcus pneumoniae (CLSI/EUCAST, 93.3%-100%) and penicillin-intermediate S. pneumoniae (CLSI/EUCAST, 100%), high susceptibility to ceftaroline was observed. For penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae, higher susceptibility to ceftaroline following the CLSI (96.5%-100%) than EUCAST (74.4%-88.7%) was observed except in LATAM. High susceptibility to linezolid, levofloxacin, tigecycline and vancomycin was demonstrated against these isolates across regions from both breakpoints, whereas, for ceftriaxone, higher susceptibility following the CLSI than EUCAST was observed. For β-haemolytic streptococci, high susceptibility to ceftaroline was observed (CLSI, 100%). High susceptibility to linezolid, penicillin and vancomycin was demonstrated against these isolates from both breakpoints. CONCLUSIONS: Ceftaroline demonstrated potent activity against key GPB. This study significantly contributes to the limited current information on paediatric antimicrobial resistance patterns across AfME, APAC, Europe and LATAM.