Telavancin for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis

A drug approved for other infections may be useful for MRSA that is resistant to daptomycin.

The treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) endovascular infections such as infective endocarditis is a particularly challenging, yet common, task. The initial treatments of choice, vancomycin and daptomycin, may lead quickly to resistance, driven both by antimicrobial therapy administered in the setting of inadequate source control and by the host's pre-antibiotic immune response (PLoS One 2013; 8:e71151).

Now, researchers demonstrate the effect of telavancin in a well-established rabbit aortic valve endocarditis model. Telavancin is currently approved only for treating soft tissue infection and healthcare-associated pneumonia. In this manufacturer-supported study, the authors used two clinical MRSA strains that had …

Reviewing Author

George Sakoulas, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParatek Pharmaceuticals; Nestle Corp.; AbbVie; Shionogi

Speaker’s BureauAllergan/AbbVie; Paratek Pharmaceuticals; Nestle Corp.

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy; Open Forum Infectious Diseases