Treatment of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium infections with quinupristin/dalfopristin

P. K. Linden, R. C. Moellering, C. A. Wood, S. J. Rehm, J. Flaherty, F. Bompart, G. H. Talbot

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

91 Scopus citations

Abstract

Clinicians caring for patients with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) infections face severe constraints in the selection of treatment. Quinupristin/dalfopristin (Synercid) is active in vitro against VREF, with a MIC90 of 1.0 μg/mL. We investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of this agent in a multicenter, prospective, noncomparative, emergency-use study of 396 patients. Patients were included if they had signs and symptoms of active infection, including bacteremia of unknown origin, intra-abdominal infection, and skin and skin-structure infection, with no alternative antibiotic therapy available. The mean duration of treatment was 20 days (range, 4-40 days). The clinical response rate was 68.8% in the evaluable subset, and the overall response rate was 65.6%. The most common adverse events related to quinupristin/dalfopristin were arthralgias and myalgias. Related laboratory abnormalities were rare. In this severely ill patient population, quinupristin/dalfopristin was efficacious and demonstrated an acceptable safety profile in the treatment of VREF infection.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1816-1823
Number of pages8
JournalClinical Infectious Diseases
Volume33
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2001

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

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