title: Lysostaphin treatment of experimental aortic valve endocarditis caused by a Staphylococcus aureus isolate with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin.
abstract: The rabbit model of endocarditis was used to test the effectiveness of vancomycin and two different lysostaphin dosing regimens for the treatment of infections caused by a Staphylococcus aureus strain with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (glycopeptide-intermediate susceptible S. aureus [GISA]). Vancomycin was ineffective, with no evidence of sterilization of aortic valve vegetations. However, rates of sterilization of aortic valve vegetations were significantly better for animals treated with either a single dose of lysostaphin (43%) or lysostaphin given twice daily for 3 days (83%) than for animals treated with vancomycin. Rabbits given a single dose of lysostaphin followed by a 3-day drug-free period had mean reductions in aortic valve vegetation bacterial counts of 7.27 and 6.63 log10 CFU/g compared with those for untreated control rabbits and the vancomycin-treated group, respectively. We conclude that lysostaphin is an effective alternative for the treatment of experimental aortic valve endocarditis caused by a clinical VISA strain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Richmond 23249, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Patron
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Climo
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Archer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001021:Aortic Valve; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008248:Lysostaphin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011817:Rabbits; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014640:Vancomycin; D008248:Lysostaphin