Comparison of antibiotic susceptibility of Burkholderia cepacia complex organisms when grown planktonically or as biofilm in vitro.

This study determined the antibiotic susceptibility of planktonic and biofilm cultures of Burkholderia cepacia complex organisms, a group of highly problematic pathogens associated with cystic fibrosis patients. The biofilm inhibitory concentrations were considerably higher than the corresponding minimum inhibitory concentrations for meropenem and piperacillin-tazobactam. However, tobramycin and amikacin were efficacious against both biofilm and planktonic cultures. Overall this study showed that biofilm susceptibility testing might be more clinically appropriate for determining antibiotic therapy for Burkholderia cepacia complex infections in cystic fibrosis patients.