Novel therapies for treatment of multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii skin infections

Abstract

The Gram-negative coccobacillus Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) has become an increasingly prevalent cause of hospital-acquired infections during the last two decades primarily resulting in pneumonia and complicated infections, including wound infections in troops injured in Afghanistan and Iraq. Moreover, the majority of clinical Ab isolates display high-level resistance to commonly utilized antimicrobial drugs, which severely compromises our capacity to care for patients with Ab disease. Thus, radically new approaches are urgently needed. This review focuses on novel therapies that can challenge the evolving ability of Ab to develop resistance and cause disease.