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In areas with a high prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, vancomycin is widely used for empirical treatment of patients with suspected gram-positive bacteremia. Sometimes this drug is continued even if methicillin susceptibility is confirmed. Whether vancomycin is as effective as β-lactams for treating methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) bacteremia remains unclear. To explore this issue, researchers in Korea conducted a two-part investigation involving patients treated at their institutions for MSSA bacteremia between 1998 and 2006.
In a retrospective cohort study (n=294), patients who received vancomycin or teicoplanin therapy for ≥75% of the treatment course had a significantly higher S. aureus–…