Tigecycline Monotherapy Research Articles

A review of tigecycline — the first glycylcycline

The dawn of a troubling post-antibiotic era likely is on the horizon, fuelled by a rise in bacterial resistance to existing antibiotic therapy alongside a waning pipeline of novel antibacterial agents. Tigecycline, a new glycylcycline with an expanded broad spectrum of in vitro activity, was recently approved for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs). This review will examine how tigecycline evades the common mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of tigecycline, and its spectrum of in vitro activity. The results of randomized clinical trials for the treatment of cSSTIs and cIAIs with tigecycline are also described, as is the patient safety and tolerability observed during these studies. Tigecycline monotherapy has been shown to be as effective as its comparators and, against a backdrop of rising bacterial resistance, the role for tigecycline in monotherapy of infections from Gram-positive, Gram-negative and anaerobic bacteria is a meaningful development.

Pharmacodynamic Performance of Tigecycline versus Common Intravenous Antibiotics for the Empiric Treatment of Complicated Skin and Skin Structure Infections

In clinical trials tigecycline was similar to vancomycin/aztreonam for complicated skin and skin structure infections, but data comparing it with other widely used antibiotics are lacking. We predicted the pharmacodynamic cumulative fraction of response (CFR) of tigecycline against bacteria implicated in complicated skin and skin structure infections and compared it with the CFRs for piperacillin/tazobactam, ceftriaxone, levofloxacin, and imipenem/cilastatin. A 5,000-patient Monte Carlo simulation using a two-compartment intravenous infusion model was used to simulate steady-state concentrations for common dosages of these antibiotics. Population pharmacokinetics data from infected patients were employed. The CFR was calculated against Staphylococcus aureus (42% methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA]), streptococci, coagulase-negative staphylococci, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter, enterococci, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa collected from worldwide surveillance (TEST and SENTRY) and weighted by prevalence of involvement in complicated skin and skin structure infections. Excluding MRSA, the weighted CFR was greatest for imipenem/cilastatin and piperacillin/tazobactam regimens (93.9%-95.9%). With 42% MRSA added to the model, only tigecycline monotherapy achieved a high CFR (88.2%). The addition of vancomycin raised the CFR to 91.0%, 89.5%, 88.3%, 82.9%, and 78% for imipenem/cilastatin 500 mg q6h, imipenem/cilastatin 500 mg q8h, piperacillin/tazobactam, levofloxacin, and ceftriaxone regimens, respectively. Tigecycline monotherapy had a likelihood of achieving its requisite pharmacodynamic exposure similar to that of combinations of piperacillin/tazobactam or imipenem/cilastatin plus vancomycin for the empiric treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections.

The Efficacy and Safety of Tigecycline in the Treatment of Skin and Skin‐Structure Infections: Results of 2 Double‐Blind Phase 3 Comparison Studies with Vancomycin‐Aztreonam

Two phase 3, double-blind studies in hospitalized adults with complicated skin and skin-structure infections (cSSSI) determined the safety and efficacy of tigecycline versus that of vancomycin-aztreonam. Patients received tigecycline (100 mg, followed by 50 mg intravenously twice daily) or vancomycin (1 g intravenously twice daily) plus aztreonam (2 g intravenously twice daily) for up to 14 days. Populations were as follows: 1116 patients (566 treated with tigecycline, and 550 treated with vancomycin-aztreonam) constituted the modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population, 1057 patients (538 treated with tigecycline, and 519 treated with vancomycin-aztreonam) constituted the clinical mITT (c-mITT) population, and 833 patients (422 treated with tigecycline, and 411 treated with vancomycin-aztreonam) constituted the clinically evaluable population. Clinical responses to tigecycline and vancomycin-aztreonam at test-of-cure were similar: c-mITT, 79.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 76.1%-83.1%) versus 81.9% (95% CI, 78.3%-85.1%) (P = .4183); and clinically evaluable, 86.5% (95% CI, 82.9%-89.6%) versus 88.6% (95% CI, 85.1%-91.5%) (P = .4233). Adverse events were similar, with increased nausea and vomiting in the tigecycline group and increased rash and elevated hepatic aminotransferase levels in the vancomycin-aztreonam group. Tigecycline monotherapy is as safe and efficacious as the vancomycin-aztreonam combination in treating patients with cSSSI.

Efficacy and safety of tigecycline monotherapy compared with vancomycin plus aztreonam in patients with complicated skin and skin structure infections: Results from a phase 3, randomized, double-blind trial

To compare the effect of tigecycline monotherapy, a first-in-class, expanded broad spectrum glycylcycline, with the combination of vancomycin and aztreonam (V + A) in the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI). A phase 3, double-blind study conducted in 8 countries enrolled adults with cSSSI who required intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy for > or =5 days. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either tigecycline or V + A for up to 14 days. Primary endpoint was the clinical cure rate at the test-of-cure visit. Secondary endpoints included microbiologic efficacy and in vitro susceptibility to tigecycline of bacteria that cause cSSSI. Safety was assessed by physical examination, laboratory analyses, and adverse event reporting. A total of 596 patients were screened for enrollment, 573 were analyzed for safety, 537 were included in the clinical modified intent-to-treat (c-mITT) population, 397 were clinically evaluable (CE), and 228 were microbiologically evaluable (ME). At test-of-cure, cure rates were similar between tigecycline and V + A groups in the CE population (82.9% versus 82.3%, respectively) and in the c-mITT population (75.5% versus 76.9%, respectively). Microbiologic eradication rates (subject level) at test-of-cure in the ME population were also similar between tigecycline and V + A. Frequency of adverse events was similar between groups, although patients receiving tigecycline had higher incidence of nausea, vomiting, dyspepsia, and anorexia, while increased ALT/SGPT, pruritus, and rash occurred significantly more often in V + A-treated patients. This study demonstrates that the efficacy of tigecycline monotherapy for the treatment of patients with cSSSI is statistically noninferior to the combination of V + A.

Tigecycline

Tigecycline is the first member of a new class of broad-spectrum antibacterials, the glycylcyclines, that has been specifically developed to overcome the two major mechanisms of tetracycline resistance (ribosomal protection and efflux). In vitro, tigecycline was active against a wide range of Gram-positive and -negative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria implicated in complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs) and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs). Intravenously administered tigecycline (recommended dosage regimen 100 mg initially, followed by 50 mg every 12 hours for 5-14 days) has been approved by the US FDA for the treatment of cSSSIs and cIAIs. In well designed, pivotal phase III studies, tigecycline monotherapy was noninferior to combination therapy with vancomycin 1 g plus aztreonam 2 g every 12 hours in hospitalised adult patients with cSSSIs (two trials; pooled clinical cure rates, 86.5% vs 88.6%) or broad-spectrum therapy with imipenem/cilastatin 200-500 mg/200-500 mg every 6 hours in hospitalised adult patients with cIAIs (two trials; pooled clinical cure rates, 86.1% vs 86.2%). Tigecycline was generally well tolerated in phase III studies; nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea were the most frequent adverse events in patients treated with tigecycline or an active comparator (vancomycin plus aztreonam or imipenem/cilastatin).