Piperacillin/Tazobactam Susceptibility Test Interpretive Criteria for Enterobacterales: Recommendations From the United States Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

The in vitro susceptibility testing interpretive criteria (STIC) for piperacillin/tazobactam (TZP) against Enterobacterales were recently updated by the US Food and Drug Administration, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, and European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing. The United States Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (USCAST) also recently reviewed TZP STIC for Enterobacterales and arrived at different STIC for Enterobacterales. Here, we explain our recommendations and rationale behind them. Based on our review of the available data, USCAST does not recommend TZP STIC for certain Enterobacterales species that have a moderate to high likelihood of clinically significant AmpC production (Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, and Klebsiella aerogenes only) or for third-generation cephalosporin-nonsusceptible Enterobacterales. USCAST recommends a TZP susceptibility breakpoint of ≤ 16/4 mg/L for third-generation cephalosporin-susceptible Enterobacterales and only endorses the use of extended infusion TZP regimens for patients with infections due to these pathogens.