Treatment of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus with quinupristin/dalfopristin and high-dose ampicillin.

Objective: To report the successful treatment of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) bacteremia using the combination of quinupristin/dalfopristin and high-dose ampicillin.

Case Summary: A 38-year-old African American woman with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia and neutropenic fever developed VRE bacteremia following 3 successive courses of vancomycin for methicillin-resistant staphylococcal infections. Treatment with linezolid was initiated; however, after 9 days of therapy, blood cultures continued to reveal VRE and the patient became febrile.