Global Resistance of Imipenem/Relebactam against Gram-Negative Bacilli: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Relebactam, previously known as MK-7655, is currently being tested in combination with imipenem as a class A and class C beta-lactamase inhibitor, including KPC from Klebsiella pneumoniae. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current study was to evaluate the activity of imipenem/relebactam against gram-negative bacilli. METHODS: After applying exclusion and inclusion criteria, 72 articles with full texts that describe the prevalence of imipenem/relebactam resistance were chosen for the meta-analysis and systematic review. Articles published between January 2015 and February 2023 were surveyed. The systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus. RESULTS: The pooled estimation of 282,621 sample isolates revealed that the prevalence rate of imipenem/relebactam resistance is roughly 14.6 (95 CI, 0.116-0.182). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this analysis show that imipenem/relebactam resistance is rare in the majority of developed countries. Given that relebactam has proven to restore the activity of imipenem against current clinical isolates, further research into imipenem/relebactam is necessary.