Treatment of meningitis caused by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium: high-dose and combination daptomycin therapy.

Objective: To report 3 successful treatments of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium meningitis in adults using daptomycin and either linezolid or gentamicin.

Case Summary: Three case reports involving males (aged 58-78 years) are presented; in each case (trigeminal nerve microvascular decompression and subdural hygroma; paraspinal abscess; and hydrocephalus with subsequent craniotomy and ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement) CSF examination revealed vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) susceptible to daptomycin, gentamicin, and/or linezolid. Threeto four-week treatment regimens with daptomycin 6-12 mg/kg and either gentamicin or linezolid led to clinical resolution and microbiological clearance of infection.

Cethromycin: a promising new ketolide antibiotic for respiratory infections.

Community-acquired pneumonia remains the primary infectious cause of death in the United States. At current levels of antimicrobial resistance, conventional agents are at risk of becoming less effective, and the need for new agents is pressing. Cethromycin is a new ketolide antibiotic being investigated for use in respiratory tract infections.