Activities of taurolidine in vitro and in experimental enterococcal endocarditis

In vitro, the antimicrobial agent taurolidine inhibited virtually ail of th e bacteria tested, including vanco-mycin-resistant enterococci, oxacillin-r esistant staphylococci, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, at concentrations between 250 and 2,000 mu g/ml. Taurolidine was not effective in experiment al endocarditis. While it appears unlikely. that this antimicrobial would b e useful for systemic therapy, its bactericidal activity and the resistance rates found (<10(-9)) are favorable indicators for its possible developmen t for topical use.