[Daptomycin: pharmacological characteristics and its role in the treatment of gram positive infections].

Daptomycin recently made available in Chile, belongs to a new family of antimicrobials known as lypopeptides. Daptomycin has a unique mechanism of action and a potent bactericidal activity over susceptible agents. It is active against a number of clinically significant Gram positive cocci, including strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus spp., both susceptible and resistant to classic antimicrobials. Daptomycin has been approved for clinical use in skin and soft tissue infections, and for S. aureus bacteremia in adult patients. Ongoing trials suggest that daptomycin is also useful in the treatment of other infections such as osteomyelitis, biofilm producing infections, and in immunocompromised patients, particularly onco-hematologic patients. The main adverse reaction associated with daptomycin use is myopathy, usually mild and reversible.