Vancomycin versus teicoplanin in the treatment of serious Gram-positive infections: what do the minimum inhibitory concentration data tell us?

Abstract

AbstractGlycopeptides are the mainstay of treatment against serious drug-resistant Gram-positive infections. The two principal agents are vancomycin and teicoplanin. Optimal dosing of both these antimicrobial agents, in terms of clinical outcomes and achievement of pharmacodynamic targets, has been shown to be dependent on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). There are no MIC susceptibility data for vancomycin and teicoplanin in South Africa, and susceptibility from a clinical perspective is usually considered to be a class-specifc phenomenon, and thus the two agents are often used interchangeably. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the MIC of teicoplanin with that of vancomycin, using broth microdilution, against a number of clinically signifcant Gram-positive isolates. Staphylococci and enterococci were collected from the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Broth microdilution antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed simultaneously for both vancomycin and teico...