Inappropriate antibiotic therapy is identified as an important predictor of mortality among patients with S. aureus bacteremia and higher vancomycin MIC values may be predictive of treatment failure [6,36]. Given the availability of different antimicrobials for the treatment of nosocomial S. aureus infections, define empirical options for BSI in settings where high-vancomycin MIC S. aureus isolates are prevalent
needs further discussion. The present study analyzed 110 single and consecutive S. aureus isolates associated to unique BSI episodes, obtained during 2011 to 2013, from a complex hospital environment in Brazil. Our current S. aureus sample represents this scenario, since 28% of all presented vancomycin MIC ≥ 2 mg/L. In this environment, both vancomycin regimens (1000 mg q12h and 1000 mg q8h) were unable to achieve the optimal defined threshold CFR (62% and 76%, respectively), probably due to a high MIC prevalent environment. As confirmed by the sensitivity analysis, even higher vancomycin dose regimens would still attain suboptimal efficacy considering both PD (clinical cure and bacterial eradication) indexes.
Determining treatment strategies using other anti-staphylococcal agents should be explored in order to provide alternative empiric treatment options in settings where elevated vancomycin MIC are prevalent [22,37]. Based in our model, higher daptomycin dosing regimen (10 mg/kg q24h) and currently FDA approved ceftaroline dosing regimen (600 mg q12h) performed as interesting therapeutic options from a PD standpoint. On the one hand, ceftaroline is the only beta-lactam antibiotic commercially available in many countries (USA and others) with inherent activity against MRSA, however it is not currently approved for S. aureus BSI treatment [38]. On the other hand, daptomycin has label indication for the treatment of S. aureus BSI and right-side endocarditis [9].
Historically, daptomycin has been used as salvage therapy in patients failing vancomycin therapy, but its use has been increasingly common as initial empiric therapy [39]. Although daptomycin FDA approved dose regimen for of S. aureus BSI treatment is 6 mg/kg q24h, higher dose regimens would probably need to be used (10 mg/kg q24h or more) in order to overcome daptomycin non-susceptibility or in specific situations such as complicated or persistent MRSA bacteremia or profound infections [38]. Notably, there is an apparent correlation between daptomycin non-susceptibility and vancomycin intermediate resistance [40,41].
As a limitation of the data, we must consider the sensitivity analysis for daptomycin. It illustrates the difficulties of translating in vitro bacteriostatic and bactericidal concepts into clinical practice [42]. In summary, bacteriostatic in vitro threshold used for daptomycin and observed in murine model studies would be only achieved with high-dose daptomycin regimens; thus, bactericidal targets would rarely be attained against isolates with similar MIC distributions. This also shows that the level of uncertainty in the current study is higher for daptomycin and further studies are needed to define relevant PD targets.
Ceftaroline is approved by the FDA for bacterial skin infections and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, but there is increasing evidence of its use for treatment of patients with S. aureus BSI [8,38,40], including treatment of serious MRSA infections and those caused by strains with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin and non-susceptibility to daptomycin [43]. Although a fT >MIC between 25 to 30% is reported as an appropriate target for complicated skin and skin structure infections [26], we have chosen a more aggressive PD target (fT >MIC values of 51%) considering that BSI is a life-threatening infection and potentially higher exposures would be needed. Further randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm ceftaroline role as a viable treatment option against S. aureus BSI. However, observational studies demonstrate ceftaroline viability as potential treatment option for this condition [8,38]. From the PD standpoint, even applying higher exposures targets ceftaroline performed well against the current S. aureus BSI isolates.
Teicoplanin has been widely reported as comparable to vancomycin in terms of efficacy and has been commonly prescribed in many parts of the world (excluding the USA) [44,45]. Despite its availability in clinical practice for many years, the optimal PD profile is still under debate. Historically, trough concentrations have been utilized to characterize the adequacy of the glycopeptide PD profile; however, trough concentration alone is not an entirely appropriate target predictive of clinical success as sensitivity analysis demonstrated that even if a most aggressive trough concentration value was chosen (i.e., > 20 mg⁄L), the CFR observed in trough concentration targets was inferior to the PD value associated with successful outcome [34,35,46].
As a result of this discordance with trough value, we utilized a target AUC/MIC in the current study. Although a 400 mg once-daily regimen of teicoplanin is often utilized in clinical practice, our data suggests that a 400 mg q12h regimen will provide a more optimal PD profile. In agreement with our findings, a recent clinical study showed that teicoplanin maintenance dosing of 400 mg q12h for severe infections due to MRSA provided higher clinical response rates and lower BSI-related mortality rates.
In this study the linezolid regimen (600 mg q12h) presented a CFR of 77%, far below the threshold defined as optimal response. This is partially explained by an elevated prevalence (60%) of isolates with linezolid MIC ≥ 2 mg/L. These findings were supported by the sensitivity analysis, given the large variation observed between the alternative PD targets proposed and even if less conservative PD target (reflecting the minimum PD index associated to clinical cure) were chosen, higher CFR thresholds were not achieved. Considering off-label use of linezolid for a potentially severe infection in this context, other treatment options should be considered if isolates with linezolid MIC ≥ 2 mg/L are locally prevalent.
Only antimicrobials used for treatment of MRSA infections were studied in the current study, although there are other available therapies not addressed in the current evaluation. Empirical therapy of S. aureus infections in hospital settings with elevated MRSA prevalence must consider a complex MIC distribution pattern and, consequently, complex drug exposure issues. A different scenario should be expected in environments with prevalent methicillin susceptible S. aureus.
Among the limitations of the present study, the selection of PK published studies included data derived from different clinical indications given the lack of comparable PK trials for each of these agents in the same patient population. On the other hand, we also avoided the inclusion of PK data derived exclusively from critically ill patients, due to the vast array of pathophysiological changes which affects antibiotic dosing in the critically ill [11]. Another potential limitation is that the results of any simulation are dependent on local MIC distributions and may vary among periods and institutions.
Finally, in locations where S. aureus vancomycin MIC ≥ 2 μg/mL are prevalent, may have concerns about vancomycin lack of activity, particularly for difficult to treat infections. Thus, stochastic methods can be used to guide antimicrobial stewardship in situations where several therapeutic options are currently available.