Resistance to linezolid has been associated with a G2576U mutation in domain V of the 23S rRNA. We analyzed nine clinical isolates of linezolid-resistant enterococci and showed a clear association between the number of 23S rRNA genes containing this mutation and the level of linezolid resistance expressed.

Linezolid, an oxazolidinone antibiotic, inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by binding to 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). We studied 3 patients who experienced lactic acidosis while receiving linezolid therapy. The toxicity may have been caused by linezolid binding to mitochondrial 16S rRNA. Genetic polymorphisms may have contributed to the toxicity in 2 patients.

Linezolid is the first member of the oxazolidinones and is active against drug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Additionally, linezolid shows an immunomodulatory effect, such as inhibition of inflammatory cytokine production. In this study, we examined the effect of linezolid on MRSA-induced MUC5AC overexpression in airway epithelial...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of linezolid in the treatment of Gram-positive prosthetic hip and knee infections. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective evaluation of patients hospitalized in the Department of Infectious Diseases of San Martino Hospital in Genoa with the diagnosis of Gram-positive prosthetic joint infection and treated with intravenous and/or oral l...

BACKGROUND Despite 10 years of clinical use, linezolid resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) is still a rare phenomenon. This study reports the mechanisms of resistance and strain types seen in clusters of linezolid-resistant CoNS from two different hospitals in Italy during the period 2008-09. METHODS Genes associated with linezolid resistance were s...

BACKGROUND We previously reported the case of a 64-year-old man with mediastinitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus in which the infecting bacterium acquired linezolid resistance after only 14 days treatment with linezolid. We therefore investigated relevant clinical isolates for possible mechanisms of this rapid acquisition of linezolid resistance. METHODS Using clinical S. aureus isolates, w...

New and improved antibiotics are urgently needed to combat the ever-increasing number of multidrug-resistant bacteria. In this study, we characterized several members of a new oxazolidinone family, R chi-01. This antibiotic family is distinguished by having in vitro and in vivo activity against hospital-acquired, as well as community-acquired, pathogens. We compared the 50S ribosome binding aff...

De Gascun and colleagues report on a case of methicillinsusceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) sepsis treated successfully with linezolid after initial failure of a triple regimen of apparently appropriate antibiotics. They ascribe the observed efficacy of linezolid to an anti-toxin effect of the antibiotic. Linezolid acts by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis, and it, therefore, blocks t...

BACKGROUND Post hoc analyses of clinical trial data suggested that linezolid may be more effective than vancomycin for treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nosocomial pneumonia. This study prospectively assessed efficacy and safety of linezolid, compared with a dose-optimized vancomycin regimen, for treatment of MRSA nosocomial pneumonia. METHODS This was a prospect...

OBJECTIVE To describe the use and effectiveness of linezolid as an alternative treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. METHOD Demographic, clinical and safety data were collected from hospitalised patients. The information sources were the clinical records and the pharmacy programme. RESULTS Thirty patients were treated with linezolid (median age 69.3, 63% male). The medi...