New Drug Fights Resistant Infections

Pediatricians have another weapon in their arsenal to fight infections that have shown resistance to common antibiotics, according to a team of investigators led by Baylor College of Medicine.

Study results showed that linezolid, a new type of antibiotic, is well-tolerated and as effective as the most common antibiotic, vancomycin, in treating infants and children with known or suspected gram-positive infections, said Sheldon Kaplan, M.D., Baylor professor of pediatrics.

“Incidence of these infections is increasing at an alarming rate in children in the community without typical risk factors, such as recent hospitalization,” said Kaplan, 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.”

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 or MRSA and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus epidermidis.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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