
Teicoplanin in the treatment of gram-positive-bacterial endocarditis
Author(s) -
Pietro Martino,
Mario Venditti,
Alessandra Micozzi,
C Brandimarte,
Giuseppe Gentile,
Claudio Santini,
Pietro Serra
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.07
H-Index - 259
eISSN - 1070-6283
pISSN - 0066-4804
DOI - 10.1128/aac.33.8.1329
Subject(s) - teicoplanin , medicine , endocarditis , antibiotics , aminoglycoside , vancomycin , surgery , gastroenterology , staphylococcus aureus , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , biology , genetics
Intravenous teicoplanin has been used to treat 23 cases of gram-positive-bacterial endocarditis, usually with 3 to 7 mg/kg every 12 h on the first day, followed by 3 to 7 mg/kg every 24 h. For some cases (staphylococcal and enterococcal endocarditis), the dosage was 8 to 14.4 mg/kg per day and/or other antibiotics were given. The mean duration was 48.2 days (range, 23 to 130 days). Of 23 patients, 21 (91.3%) had negative cultures or were cured. A total of 18 patients were treated with teicoplanin alone; of these, 4 had surgery, and all (except 2 who relapsed) were cured. Teicoplanin was combined with one or more antibiotics in five cases; in all cases appropriate cultures were negative, but three patients died during therapy or follow-up. Mild renal impairment was seen in two patients; both were receiving teicoplanin in combination with an aminoglycoside. We conclude that intravenous teicoplanin administered once a day at doses of 7 to 14 mg/kg per day is well tolerated, easy to administer, and may represent an efficacious therapy for gram-positive-bacterial endocarditis.