The current role of glycopeptides in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in not neutropenic adults: the viewpoint of a group of Italian experts.

Staphylococcus aureus is still an important problem in clinical and therapeutic area, worldwide. In Italy, in recent years, methicillin resistance remained stable, yet considerably high, the percentage of strains of MRSA being around 40%. It was deemed interesting and timely to carry out a consensus conference using the RAND/UCLA method to collect the opinion of a group of experts in infectious diseases on the role of glycopeptides in the management of MRSA infections within several clinical scenarios and namely in pneumonia, bacteremia and endocarditis, joint replacement infections, skin and soft tissue infections, diabetic foot, abdominal infections and central nervous system infections. The scenarios proposed by the Scientific Committee have been validated by a group of experts in infectious diseases and then voted in three meetings of infectious disease specialists. The results obtained on each individual condition were analyzed and therapeutic recommendations on each of these were released.