Teicoplanin therapy for MRSA bacteraemia: a retrospective study emphasizing the importance of maintenance dosing in improving clinical outcomes.

OBJECTIVES To study the relationship between teicoplanin maintenance dosing and clinical outcomes in adults with MRSA bacteraemia. METHODS MRSA bacteraemic patients who received three teicoplanin loading doses (6 mg/kg/12 h) followed by maintenance doses of 6 mg/kg/24 h (Group 1) or 6 mg/kg/12 h (Group 2) were retrospectively analysed. Evaluated on day 7, an unfavourable early clinical response referred to the presence of septic shock, persistent fever, persistent leucocytosis and/or persistent bacteraemia. Assessed at completion of teicoplanin therapy, an unfavourable final clinical response referred to clinical treatment failure. RESULTS Compared with those in Group 1 (n = 122), patients in Group 2 (n = 82) had significantly higher rates of favourable early clinical response (P = 0.040) and final clinical response (P < 0.001) and a lower bloodstream-infection-related mortality rate (P = 0.018). Based on estimated ORs for favourable final clinical response in multivariate analysis, endocarditis (P < 0.001; OR 0.109, 95% CI 0.032-0.368), pneumonia (P < 0.001; OR 0.172, 95% CI 0.069-0.433), ICU admission (P < 0.001; OR 0.132, 95% CI 0.054-0.325) and high Pittsburgh bacteraemia score (P = 0.042; OR 0.187, 95% CI 0.021-0.457) were each a risk factor for an unfavourable final clinical response. Higher teicoplanin maintenance dosing contributed to a favourable final clinical response (P < 0.001; OR 8.800, 95% CI 3.602-21.502). Significantly higher favourable final clinical response rates were also found in patients with endocarditis (P = 0.007) and pneumonia (P < 0.001) in Group 2 compared with their counterparts in Group 1. CONCLUSIONS These data highlight the importance of higher teicoplanin maintenance dosing, especially for severe infections due to MRSA.