Jc. Pechere, Current and future management of infections due to methicillin-resistant staphylococci infections: the role of quinupristin/dalfopristin, J ANTIMICRO, 44, 1999, pp. 11-18
The rise in the number of multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria that h
as occurred in recent years has resulted in the development of infections t
hat are difficult to treat, and also in severely restricted treatment optio
ns. In particular, the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus au
reus (MRSA) has increased, with strains shown to cause up to 21% of skin in
fections and 59.6% of nosocomial pneumonia. Recently, strains of S. aureus
with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (glycopeptide-intermediate S. aur
eus or GISA) are causing great concern, particularly as vancomycin has been
the agent of choice in the treatment of infection caused by MRSA. GISA has
been identified in Japan, the USA and Europe. New agents that have anti-MR
SA activity are now being investigated. These include the novel streptogram
in, quinupristin/dalfopristin. This report examines the activity of quinupr
istin/dalfopristin against strains of S. aureus and coagulase-negative stap
hylococci, including multidrug-resistant MRSA and GISA.