Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia confers considerable morbidity and mortality. Although vancomycin or daptomycin monotherapy is usually curative, prolonged bacteremia necessitating supplemental ceftaroline has occurred. The practice has led to the question of whether to continue with ceftaroline following bacteremia resolution. METHODS: Adult patients hospitalized with MRSA bacteremia at the University of Kentucky Medical Center between January 2015 and December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Study subjects required supplemental ceftaroline due to 4 or more days of bacteremia despite vancomycin or daptomycin. They additionally had accompanying native valve infective endocarditis, osteomyelitis, or brain abscess. Patients were divided into two cohorts. One group continued with ceftaroline plus vancomycin or daptomycin following bacteremia resolution (combination therapy group). The other group received vancomycin or daptomycin alone (monotherapy group). All involved received 6-8 weeks of therapy. Patients' Pitt bacteremia score (PBS) and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) values were calculated. Treatment outcomes of inpatient mortality, recurrence of bacteremia, 30-day readmission, acute kidney injury, and leukopenia were recorded and compared. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients comprised the study population. 15 patients were assigned to each cohort. The median PBS value of the combination therapy group was 2, compared with 1 among the monotherapy group. The median CCI score of both groups was 0. No statistically significant difference in the aforementioned treatment outcomes was seen between the two groups. CONCLUSION: In subjects with complicated and prolonged MRSA bacteremia requiring supplemental ceftaroline, clinical outcomes did not differ among patients prescribed vancomycin or daptomycin alone following bacteremia resolution versus patients who continued combination therapy.