Baseline Study To Determine In Vitro Activities of Daptomycin against Gram-Positive Pathogens Isolated in the United States in 2000-2001

Abstract

The activity of daptomycin was assessed by using 6,973 gram-positive bacteria isolated at 50 United States hospitals in 2000 and 2001. Among the isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae ( n = 1,163) collected, the rate of penicillin resistance was 16.1%; rates of oxacillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus isolates ( n = 1,018) and vancomycin resistance among Enterococcus faecium isolates ( n = 368) were 30.0 and 59.5%, respectively. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotypes (isolates resistant to three or more different chemical classes of antimicrobial agents) accounted for 14.2% of S. pneumoniae isolates, 27.1% of S. aureus isolates, and 58.4% of E. faecium isolates. For all gram-positive species tested, MICs at which 90% of the isolates tested were inhibited (MIC ₉₀ s) and MIC ranges for directed-spectrum agents (daptomycin, quinupristin-dalfopristin, and linezolid) were identical or highly similar for isolates susceptible or resistant to other agents or MDR. Daptomycin had a MIC ₉₀ of 0.12 μg/ml for both penicillin-susceptible and -resistant isolates of S. pneumoniae . Against oxacillin-resistant S. aureus daptomycin had a MIC ₉₀ of 0.5 μg/ml, and it had a MIC ₉₀ of 4 μg/ml against both vancomycin-susceptible and -resistant E. faecium . The MIC ₉₀ s for daptomycin and other directed-spectrum agents were unaffected by the regional or anatomical origin of isolates or patient demographic parameters (patient age, gender, and inpatient or outpatient care). Our results confirm the gram-positive spectrum of activity of daptomycin and that its activity is independent of susceptibility or resistance to commonly prescribed and tested antimicrobial agents. This study may serve as a baseline to monitor future changes in the susceptibility of gram-positive species to daptomycin following its introduction into clinical use.