Risk of hepatic events in patients treated with vancomycin in clinical studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Routine surveillance of spontaneous reporting data and subsequent disproportionality analyses have indicated that the use of vancomycin might be associated with an increased risk of hepatic events.

Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) to better understand if the use of vancomycin is potentially associated with an increased risk of hepatic events.

Data Sources: A comprehensive search and review of published clinical studies indexed in MEDLINE, PubMed, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and the Cochrane Library from 1950 to June 2010 was conducted.

A retrospective observational study of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in adults with severe sepsis: comparison with a controlled clinical trial.

Objective: To compare characteristics and outcomes of patients treated with drotrecogin alfa (activated) (DrotAA) in clinical practice to those treated in a phase III randomized controlled trial (PROWESS).

Design: Observational data were collected retrospectively from patients who received DrotAA as part of physician-directed treatment.

Setting: Intensive care units of five teaching institutions.

Daptomycin: a novel agent for Gram-positive infections.

The alarming increase in the incidence of Gram-positive infections, including those caused by resistant bacteria, has sparked renewed interest in novel antibiotics. One such agent is daptomycin, a novel lipopeptide antibiotic with proven bactericidal activity in vitro against all clinically relevant Gram-positive bacteria. These include resistant pathogens, such as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), glycopeptide intermediately susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (GISA), coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP), for which there are very few therapeutic alternatives.

Pharmacodynamics of oritavancin (LY333328) in a neutropenic-mouse thigh model of Staphylococcus aureus infection.

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oritavancin (LY333328), a glycopeptide antibiotic with concentration-dependent bactericidal activity against gram-positive pathogens, in a neutropenic-mouse thigh model of Staphylococcus aureus infection were studied. Plasma radioequivalent concentrations of oritavancin were determined by using [(14)C]oritavancin at doses ranging from 0.5 to 20 mg/kg of body weight.

In vitro activities of LY333328 and comparative agents against nosocomial gram-positive pathogens collected in a 1997 global surveillance study.

The in vitro activity of LY333328 was evaluated for 1,479 nosocomial gram-positive pathogens isolated in 12 countries during 1997. LY333328 MICs at which 90% of the isolates tested were inhibited for Enterococcus faecalis (n = 351), Enterococcus faecium (n = 100), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 593), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species (n = 325), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 110) were 1, 1, 2, 2, and 0.015 microg/ml, respectively.