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Decreased Serum Linezolid Levels in a Critically Ill Patient Receiving Concomitant Linezolid and Rifampin
Author(s) -
Gebhart Benjamin C.,
Barker Brian C.,
Markewitz Boaz A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1592/phco.27.3.476
Subject(s) - linezolid , medicine , concomitant , antibiotics , staphylococcus aureus , intensive care medicine , drug , drug resistance , pharmacology , microbiology and biotechnology , vancomycin , biology , bacteria , genetics
Serious gram‐positive infections present an increasingly common therapeutic dilemma. Combination antimicrobial regimens (e. g., linezolid with rifampin) aimed at improving bacterial eradication and preventing resistance are often used; however, most data supporting this treatment strategy are not from randomized controlled trials. We describe a patient with disseminated community‐acquired methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection who experienced a possible drug interaction between linezolid and rifampin that resulted in decreased serum linezolid levels. To our knowledge, this is the first published report of a possible drug interaction in a critically ill patient receiving concomitant linezolid and rifampin. Although we hypothesize that the reaction was caused by P‐glycoprotein expression, further study is warranted.