New Antibiotic for Resistant Pediatric Infections

A study has shown that a new type of antibiotic, called linezolid, is as effective as vancomycin in treating infants and children with known or suspected Gram-positive infections. The results were reported at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Chicago (IL, USA).

The study included children with complicated skin and soft tissue infections, nosocomial pneumonia, and bacteremia caused by resistant Gram- positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis. The multicenter study involved 52 sites and enrolled 316 children from birth to age 11, including 63 neonates. The study was an open-label, randomized trial comparing linezolid to vancomycin.

"Incidence of these infections is increasing at an alarming rate in children in the community without typical risk factors, such as recent hospitalization,” said Dr. Sheldon Kaplan, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine (Dallas, TX, USA) and also chief of the infectious disease service at Texas Children's Hospital. "This underscores the need for new treatments for children with hard-to-treat resistant Gram-positive infections, because there are limited options available for this age group.”

Dr. Kaplan predicts that oral linezolid may become one of the most important options for treating community-acquired MRSA in the future. Linezolid (Zyvox) is marketed by Pharmacia Corp. (Peapack, NJ, USA).




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