title: Comparative efficacies of imipenem, oxacillin and vancomycin for therapy of chronic foreign body infection due to methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: The efficacies of imipenem when directed against methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strains of Staphylococcus aureus were compared with those of oxacillin and vancomycin in a subcutaneous rat model, using chronically infected tissue cages. At three weeks after inoculation, stable chronic infections were established with average bacterial counts exceeding 10(6) cfu/mL tissue cage fluid for both strains. Intraperitoneal administration (twice a day for 7 days) of imipenem (80 mg/kg) or oxacillin (200 mg/kg) produced peak levels of 23 or 45 mg/L and through levels of < 0.1 and 5.7 mg/L, respectively. The therapeutic regimens of either imipenem (P < 0.001) or oxacillin (P < 0.02) administered for 7 days led to significant reductions in bacterial counts in the tissue cage fluids of animals chronically infected with MSSA. In contrast, imipenem was not effective against chronic MRSA tissue cage infections, despite the relatively low MIC of the infecting strain and the use of high dose (120 mg/kg) therapy. In-vitro susceptibility testings of MRSA performed before and after imipenem therapy demonstrated the emergence of a highly resistant subpopulation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Schaad
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chuard
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vaudaux
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rohner
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Waldvogel
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Lew
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015194:Diffusion Chambers, Culture; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005549:Foreign-Body Reaction / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*; D015378:Imipenem / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010068:Oxacillin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014640:Vancomycin; D015378:Imipenem; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D010068:Oxacillin