Well, as I expected and predicted in my previous post, the FDA did not waste much time approving ceftaroline (trade name – Teflaro) for complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI). http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm231594.htm (thanks to Lee Rogers, DPM for forwarding me this link). What does this mean for those of us treating lower extremity infections? It … Read more
For a number of years it was widely felt that the first of the new so-called “5th Generation”, or anti-MRSA cephalosporins would be ceftobiprole. This drug, a joint venture by the Swiss company Basilea and Johnson & Johnson had come under some fire from the FDA (see my blog entry from Dec 31, 2009) and … Read more
Instead of a formal literature review, I just wanted to post a quick clinical comment on something that came up with a patient I saw on consultation in the hospital about 2 weeks ago. This 91 y/o female nursing home resident was admitted with a diagnosis of “cellulitis” of the right foot (of course much … Read more
It is a rare study I read that makes me want to literally stop everything else I am doing and write a blog post about it. It is a dreary, gray Sunday morning and I was just catching up on some backlogged journal reading when I picked up the August 2010 issue of Antimicrobial Agents … Read more
Those of you who have read my chapter on MRSA in the 3rd Edition of the Handbook of Lower Extremity Infections (haven’t you all by now?!) or listened to me lecture about MRSA know that I am less than happy with what I perceive to be the overuse of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX, Bactrim® or Septra®) used … Read more
There is a small group of us that, when we find an interesting article dealing with infections, we pass them on so we can all be stay up to date. Some of the journals are fairly obscure and are not in my usual monthly reading so I find this a great way to read articles … Read more
I just returned from a lecture trip to Turkey where I had the privilege of giving 5 talks, one in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya at a nationwide Hospital Infection Congress and 4 to the faculties at various medical universities throughout the country. Before getting into details about specifics dealing with lower extremity infections … Read more
(My thanks to David Armstrong, DPM, PhD for bringing this press release to my attention) TaiGen Announces Nemonoxacin (TG-873870) Once-A-Day Oral Dosing in Diabetic Foot Infection Met Primary Endpoints According to its manufacturer TaiGen, nemonoxacin, a novel, non-fluorinated quinolone has shown promising results in a single armed, multinational, proof of concept Phase II clinical trial … Read more
Two studies published in the January 7, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine have received a tremendous amount of play in the popular press. One paper out of Baylor in Houston looked at comparing chlorhexidine + alcohol vs. povidone iodine as a preoperative surgical prep. In a total of 849 subjects in … Read more
Telavancin (Vibativ – Theravance/Astellas) is a novel lipoglycopeptide, related to vancomycin, that has been recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) caused by MRSA. Telavancin now joins the ranks of vancomycin, linezolid, daptomycin and tigecycline as being the only 5 antibiotics with this approval. An excellent … Read more