The layperson's guide to antibiotics. What they are, how they work, when they will not work, Extended information and links.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Documentation of vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) among children with atopic dermatitis in the Qassim region, Saudi Arabia.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Redesign of Glycopeptide Antibiotics - Back to the Future.
Redesign of Glycopeptide Antibiotics - Back to the Future.
Abstract
The glycopeptide antibiotics are the most important class of drugs used in the treatment of resistant bacterial infections including those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). After more than 50 years of clinical use, the emergence of glycopeptide resistant Gram-positive pathogens such as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) presents a serious global challenge to public health at a time few newantibiotics are being developed. This has led to renewed interest in the search for additional effective treatments including the development of new derivatives of the glycopeptide antibiotics. General approaches have been explored for modifying glycopeptide antibiotics, typically through the derivatization of the natural products themselves or more recently through chemical total synthesis. In this Perspective, we consider recent efforts to redesign glycopeptide antibiotics for the treatment of resistant microbial infections, including VRE and VRSA, and examine their potential for providing an even more powerful class of antibiotics that are even less prone to bacterial resistance.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Comparative antibacterial effects of daptomycin, vancomycin and teicoplanin studied in an in vitro pharmacokinetic model of infection.
J Antimicrob Chemother. 2009 Sep 16
Bowker KE, Noel AR, Macgowan AP.
Bristol Centre for Antimicrobial Research and Evaluation (BCARE), Department of Microbiology, Southmead Hospital, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS10 5NB, UK.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +44-(0)1179-9595654; Fax: +44-(0)117-9593217; E-mail: karen.bowker@nbt.nhs.uk
Objectives
To compare the antibacterial effects (ABEs) of the free (f) drugs daptomycin, vancomycin and teicoplanin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA), using high and low inocula in a pharmacokinetic in vitro model. To determine the daptomycin fAUC/MIC ratio for a static effect and 3 log reduction in viable count and relate this target to the clinical breakpoint.
Methods
Five clinical MRSA isolates held at Southmead Hospital were used (SMH 15841, SMH 40289, SMH 40275, SMH 33922 and SMH 33024) together with a VRSA isolate (SMH 19898); inocula of 10(6) and 10(8) cfu/mL were used. Daptomycin (6 mg/kg once daily), vancomycin (1 g twice daily) and teicoplanin (400 mg once daily) regimens were simulated. ABEs were measured using the 24 h area-under-the-bacterial kill curve (AUBKC) and log change in viable count at 24 h (Delta24). For daptomycin, dose escalation was used to determine the relationship between ABE and AUC/MIC.
Results
Daptomycin was bactericidal against the MRSA strains. Daptomycin and vancomycin were active against the VRSA strain; teicoplanin had a static effect. The higher inoculum reduced the ABEs. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that daptomycin had a superior ABE to teicoplanin and vancomycin. Daptomycin fAUC/MIC was related to AUBKC and Delta24; the fAUC/MIC ratios for a static effect and 1 log and 3 log drop were 37.2 +/- 16.5, 40.6 +/- 17.8 and 49.8 +/- 19.2, respectively.
Conclusions
These data define the fAUC/MIC sizes for daptomycin for bacteriostatic and bactericidal ABEs and indicate that a 6 mg/kg dose of daptomycin is superior to vancomycin and teicoplanin against MRSA and VRSA strains.
Antimicrobial Chemotherapy