Treatment of MRSA Infection.

Abstract

A review. Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of nosocomial infections. In recent years, the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has increased considerably. Glycopeptides, the agents of choice for treatment of MRSA, have a relatively slow bactericidal effect and have been assocd. with clin. and bacteriol. failures. Fusidic acid, rifampin, fosfomycin, quinolones and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole all have potential activity against MRSA. However, the increasing cross-resistance to these agents has restricted their treatment efficacy. The emergence of clin. isolates of S. aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (VISA) is of great concern. Several new antimicrobial agents, including streptogramins, oxazolidinones, daptomycin, glycylcyclines, oritavancin, and peptides, have proved useful against MRSA and VISA strains and are under rapid development. Currently, there are no recommended therapy guidelines for VISA infections. Treatment options include new in vitro active antimicrobial agents against VISA strains, and different existing antibiotic combinations. [on SciFinder (R)]