Evidence-based guidelines for the management of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections were prepared by an Expert Panel of the Infectious Diseases Society of ...America (IDSA). The guidelines are intended for use by health care providers who care for adult and pediatric patients with MRSA infections. The guidelines discuss the management of a variety of clinical syndromes associated with MRSA disease, including skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), bacteremia and endocarditis, pneumonia, bone and joint infections, and central nervous system (CNS) infections. Recommendations are provided regarding vancomycin dosing and monitoring, management of infections due to MRSA strains with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin, and vancomycin treatment failures.
Gram‐negative resistance has reached a crucial point, with emergence of pathogens resistant to most or all available antibiotics. Ceftazidime‐avibactam is a newly approved agent combining ceftazidime ...and a novel β‐lactamase inhibitor with activity against multidrug‐resistant gram‐negative bacteria. Avibactam has increased potency and expanded spectrum of inhibition of class A and C β‐lactamases relative to available β‐lactamase inhibitors, including extended‐spectrum β‐lactamases, AmpC, and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) enzymes. Avibactam expands ceftazidime's spectrum of activity to include many ceftazidime‐ and carbapenem‐resistant Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Early clinical data indicate that ceftazidime‐avibactam is effective and well tolerated in patients with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) and complicated intraabdominal infections (cIAI). In a phase II trial of patients with cUTIs, ceftazidime‐avibactam produced similar rates of clinical and microbiologic success compared with imipenem‐cilastatin (70.5% and 71.4% microbiologic success rates, respectively). Likewise, patients receiving ceftazidime‐avibactam plus metronidazole in a phase II study of patients with cIAI had similar response rates to those receiving meropenem (91.2% and 93.4% clinical success rates, respectively). Based on available in vitro, in vivo, and phase II trial data, as well as preliminary phase III trial results in ceftazidime‐resistant, gram‐negative cUTI and cIAI, ceftazidime‐avibactam received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for treatment of cUTI, including pyelonephritis, and cIAI, in combination with metronidazole, in adult patients with limited or no alternative treatment options. The approved dosage, ceftazidime 2 g–avibactam 0.5 g administered as a 2‐hour infusion every 8 hours, was selected based on pharmacodynamic analysis and available clinical data. This dosage is under further investigation in patients with cUTI, cIAI, and nosocomial or ventilator‐associated pneumonia. The current body of evidence suggests that ceftazidime‐avibactam is a promising addition to our therapeutic armamentarium with potential to answer an urgent unmet medical need. Further data in highly resistant gram‐negative infections, particularly those caused by KPC‐producing Enterobacteriaceae, are needed. As it is introduced into clinical use, careful stewardship and rational use are essential to preserve ceftazidime‐avibactam's potential utility.
Vancomycin is one of only a few antibiotics available to treat patients infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species. ...Therefore, understanding the clinical implications of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of vancomycin is a necessity for clinicians. Vancomycin is a concentration-independent antibiotic (also referred to as a “time-dependent” antibiotic), and there are factors that affect its clinical activity, including variable tissue distribution, inoculum size, and emerging resistance. This article reviews the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data related to vancomycin and discusses such clinical issues as toxicities and serum concentration monitoring.
Gram-negative resistance has reached a crucial point, with emergence of pathogens resistant to most or all available antibiotics. Ceftazidime-avibactam is a newly approved agent combining ceftazidime ...and a novel beta-lactamase inhibitor with activity against multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria. Avibactam has increased potency and expanded spectrum of inhibition of class A and C beta-lactamases relative to available beta-lactamase inhibitors, including extended-spectrum beta-lactamases, AmpC, and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) enzymes. Avibactam expands ceftazidime's spectrum of activity to include many ceftazidime- and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Early clinical data indicate that ceftazidime-avibactam is effective and well tolerated in patients with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) and complicated intraabdominal infections (cIAI). In a phase II trial of patients with cUTIs, ceftazidime-avibactam produced similar rates of clinical and microbiologic success compared with imipenem-cilastatin (70.5% and 71.4% microbiologic success rates, respectively). Likewise, patients receiving ceftazidime-avibactam plus metronidazole in a phase II study of patients with cIAI had similar response rates to those receiving meropenem (91.2% and 93.4% clinical success rates, respectively). Based on available in vitro, in vivo, and phase II trial data, as well as preliminary phase III trial results in ceftazidime-resistant, gram-negative cUTI and cIAI, ceftazidime-avibactam received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for treatment of cUTI, including pyelonephritis, and cIAI, in combination with metronidazole, in adult patients with limited or no alternative treatment options. The approved dosage, ceftazidime 2 g-avibactam 0.5 g administered as a 2-hour infusion every 8 hours, was selected based on pharmacodynamic analysis and available clinical data. This dosage is under further investigation in patients with cUTI,cIAI, and nosocomial or ventilator-associated pneumonia. The current body of evidence suggests that ceftazidime-avibactam is a promising addition to our therapeutic armamentarium with potential to answer an urgent unmet medical need. Further data in highly resistant gram-negative infections, particularly those caused by KPC-producing Enterobacteriaceae, are needed. As it is introduced into clinical use, careful stewardship and rational use are essential to preserve ceftazidime-avibactam's potential utility.
Evidence-based guidelines for the management of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections were prepared by an Expert Panel of the Infectious Diseases Society of ...America (IDSA). The guidelines are intended for use by health care providers who care for adult and pediatric patients with MRSA infections. The guidelines discuss the management of a variety of clinical syndromes associated with MRSA disease, including skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), bacteremia and endocarditis, pneumonia, bone and joint infections, and central nervous system (CNS) infections. Recommendations are provided regarding vancomycin dosing and monitoring, management of infections due to MRSA strains with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin, and vancomycin treatment failures.
Evidence suggests that maintenance of vancomycin trough concentrations at between 15 and 20 mg/liter, as currently recommended, is frequently unnecessary to achieve the daily area under the ...concentration-time curve (AUC
) target of ≥400 mg · h/liter. Many patients with trough concentrations in this range have AUC
values in excess of the therapeutic threshold and within the exposure range associated with nephrotoxicity. On the basis of this, the Detroit Medical Center switched from trough concentration-guided dosing to AUC-guided dosing to minimize potentially unnecessary vancomycin exposure. The primary objective of this analysis was to assess the impact of this intervention on vancomycin-associated nephrotoxicity in a single-center, retrospective quasi-experiment of hospitalized adult patients receiving intravenous vancomycin from 2014 to 2015. The primary analysis compared the incidence of nephrotoxicity between patients monitored by assessment of the AUC
and those monitored by assessment of the trough concentration. Multivariable logistic and Cox proportional hazards regression examined the independent association between the monitoring strategy and nephrotoxicity. Secondary analysis compared vancomycin exposures (total daily dose, AUC, and trough concentrations) between monitoring strategies. Overall, 1,280 patients were included in the analysis. After adjusting for severity of illness, comorbidity, duration of vancomycin therapy, and concomitant receipt of nephrotoxins, AUC-guided dosing was independently associated with lower nephrotoxicity by both logistic regression (odds ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.34 to 0.80;
= 0.003) and Cox proportional hazards regression (hazard ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.78;
= 0.002). AUC-guided dosing was associated with lower total daily vancomycin doses, AUC values, and trough concentrations. Vancomycin AUC-guided dosing was associated with reduced nephrotoxicity, which appeared to be a result of reduced vancomycin exposure.
Evidence supports vancomycin therapeutic-drug monitoring by area under the concentration-time curve (AUC), but data to establish an AUC upper limit are limited and published nephrotoxicity thresholds ...range widely. The objective of this analysis was to examine the association between initial vancomycin AUC and nephrotoxicity. This was a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of adult patients receiving intravenous vancomycin from 2014 to 2015. Nephrotoxicity was defined as a serum creatinine increase of 0.5 mg/liter and 50% from baseline on consecutive measurements. Vancomycin exposure profile during the initial 48 h of therapy was estimated using maximum
probability Bayesian estimation. Vancomycin AUC and minimum-concentration (
) thresholds most strongly associated with nephrotoxicity were identified via classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. Predictive performances of CART-derived and other candidate AUC thresholds was assessed through positive and negative predictive value and receiver operating characteristic curves. Poisson regression was used to quantify the association between exposure thresholds and nephrotoxicity while adjusting for confounders. Among 323 patients included, nephrotoxicity was significantly higher in patients with AUCs from 0 to 48 h (AUC
) of ≥1,218 mg · h/liter, AUC
of ≥677 mg · h/liter, AUC
of ≥683 mg · h/liter, and day 1
(
) of ≥18.8 mg/liter. Vancomycin exposure in excess of these thresholds was associated with a 3- to 4-fold-increased risk of nephrotoxicity in Poisson regression. The predictive performance of AUC for nephrotoxicity was maximized at daily AUC values between 600 and 800 mg · h/liter. Although these data support an AUC range for vancomycin-associated nephrotoxity rather than a single threshold, available evidence suggests that a daily AUC limit of 700 mg · h/liter is reasonable.
The recent understanding that hydrophobic β-lactams have greater affinity for organic anion transporter-3 (OAT-3) of the proximal renal tubule could provide valuable insights for anticipating ...β-lactams that may exacerbate vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity. Vancomycin alone provides oxidative stress on the highly metabolic proximal tubular cells. Hydrophobic β-lactams (eg, piperacillin and anti-staphylococcal β-lactams) could have greater OAT-3 mediated uptake into proximal tubular cells than hydrophilic β-lactams (eg, most cephalosporins and carbapenems), thereby causing greater mitochondrial stress on these susceptible cells. It remains to be seen whether concomitant drugs that inhibit OAT-3 mediated cellular uptake of β-lactams into proximal tubular cells or provide antioxidant effects might mitigate β-lactam augmented vancomycin nephrotoxicity. Furthermore, the serum creatinine rise seen with vancomycin and hydrophobic β-lactams might represent competition for creatinine-secreting transporters (of which OAT-3 is one), thus, indicating creatinine retention rather than renal injury. In the meantime, clinicians are advised to utilise less nephrotoxic combinations in both empirical and directed antibiotic selection settings until further research is conducted.
This review highlights available treatment options and their limitations, and provides direction for future investigative efforts to aid in the treatment of severe Enterococcus faecalis infections, ...namely infective endocarditis.
Abstract
Enterococci, one of the most common causes of hospital-associated infections, are responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality. Enterococcus faecalis, the more common and virulent species, causes serious high-inoculum infections, namely infective endocarditis, that are associated with cardiac surgery and mortality rates that remained unchanged for the last 30 years. The best cures for these infections are observed with combination antibiotic therapy; however, optimal treatment has not been fully elucidated. It is the purpose of this review to highlight treatment options and their limitations, and provide direction for future investigative efforts to aid in the treatment of these severe infections. While ampicillin plus ceftriaxone has emerged as a preferred treatment option, mortality rates continue to be high, and from a safety standpoint, ceftriaxone, unlike other cephalosporins, promotes colonization with vancomycin resistant-enterococci due to high biliary concentrations. More research is needed to improve patient outcomes from this high-mortality disease.
Abstract
Recent clinical data on vancomycin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics suggest a reevaluation of current dosing and monitoring recommendations. The previous 2009 vancomycin consensus ...guidelines recommend trough monitoring as a surrogate marker for the target area under the curve over 24 hours to minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC/MIC). However, recent data suggest that trough monitoring is associated with higher nephrotoxicity. This document is an executive summary of the new vancomycin consensus guidelines for vancomycin dosing and monitoring. It was developed by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists vancomycin consensus guidelines committee. These consensus guidelines recommend an AUC/MIC ratio of 400–600 mg*hour/L (assuming a broth microdilution MIC of 1 mg/L) to achieve clinical efficacy and ensure safety for patients being treated for serious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.