Dalbavancin in the treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections: a review

Dalbavancin real-life utilization among diabetic patients suffering from infections in Italy and Spain: The DALBADIA retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES

To retrospectively describe the patterns of use of dalbavancin for treating infections in diabetic patients in Italian and Spanish standard clinical practice.

METHODS

DALBADIA [NCT04959799] was a multicentre, observational, retrospective cohort study, conducted in Italy and Spain. The study enrolled 97 adults with type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus, treated with dalbavancin as per standard clinical practice for a Gram-positive bacterial infection or the Gram-positive component of a mixed infection.

RESULTS

Dalbavancin was used to treat cellulitis (18/92 patients, 19.6%), followed by prosthetic joint infection (14 patients, 15.2%), endocarditis (13 patients, 14.1%), and primary bacteraemia (10 patients, 10.9%); 78/92 (84.8%) patients had Gram-positive infections only, and 14 (15.2%) had mixed infections. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were Staphylococcus aureus in 43 (55.8% of the patients with microbial isolation), 25.6% of which methicillin-resistant; Staphylococcus epidermidis in 13 (16.9%), 53.8% of which methicillin-resistant; Enterococcus faecalis in 11 (14.3%). The main reason for the dalbavancin choice was the intent to simplify the antibiotic regimen (81.5% of cases). A multidisciplinary team participated in the treatment choice process for 53 (57.6%) patients. Dalbavancin was given as first-line antibiotic in 34 (37.0%) patients and administered as one infusion in 32 (34.8%), and as two infusions in 39 (42.4%). In total, 57/62 (91.9%) eligible patients with available assessment were judged clinically cured or improved at the end of observation.

CONCLUSION

In clinical practice, dalbavancin was used in diabetic patients to treat ABSSSIs and other difficult-to-treat infections with a favourable safety profile and a high rate of positive clinical responses.

Clinical outcomes following dalbavancin administration in patients with barriers to outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy

Between 2016 and 2021, we retrospectively identified 42 patients receiving ≥1 dose of dalbavancin for osteomyelitis, skin and soft-tissue infection, endocarditis or bacteremia, or septic arthritis. Median antibiotic duration prior to dalbavancin administration was 7 days. Within 90 days, 93% achieved clinical cure, 12% were readmitted, 12% developed hepatotoxicity, and 5% died.

Multicenter Study of the Real-World Use of Ceftaroline versus Vancomycin for Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections

The objective of this study was to determine if real-world ceftaroline treatment in adults hospitalized for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) is associated with decreased infection-related length of stay (LOSinf) compared to that with vancomycin. This was a retrospective, multicenter, cohort study from 2012 to 2017. Cox proportional hazard regression, propensity score matching, and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were used to determine the independent effect of treatment group on LOSinf The patients were adults hospitalized with ABSSSI and treated with ceftaroline or vancomycin for ≥72 h within 120 h of diagnosis at four academic medical centers and two community hospitals in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and West Virginia. A total of 724 patients were included (325 ceftaroline treated and 399 vancomycin treated). In general, ceftaroline-treated patients had characteristics consistent with a higher risk of poor outcomes. The unadjusted median LOSinf values were 5 (interquartile range [IQR], 3 to 7) days and 6 (IQR, 4 to 8) days in the vancomycin and ceftaroline groups, respectively (hazard ratio [HR], 0.866; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.747 to 1.002). The Cox proportional hazard model (adjusted HR [aHR], 0.891; 95% CI, 0.748 to 1.060), propensity score-matched (aHR, 0.955; 95% CI, 0.786 to 1.159), and IPTW (aHR, 0.918; 95% CI, 0.793 to 1.063) analyses demonstrated no significant difference in LOSinf between groups. Patients treated with ceftaroline were significantly more likely to meet criteria for discharge readiness at day 3 in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Although discharge readiness at day 3 was higher in ceftaroline-treated patients, LOSinf values were similar between treatment groups. Clinical and nonclinical factors were associated with LOSinf.

Dalbavancin Alone and in Combination with Ceftaroline against Four Different Phenotypes of Staphylococcus aureus in a Simulated Pharmacodynamic/Pharmacokinetic Model

Glycopeptides such as vancomycin have been used as the first-line therapy against MRSA infections for over half a century. Reduced susceptibility and emergence of resistance to first-generation glycopeptides has led to development of second-generation lipoglycopeptide derivatives such as dalbavancin which hold broader ranges of activity and enhanced pharmacokinetic properties. We evaluated the MIC values for a total of 100 isolates, including 25 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 25 heterogeneus vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus, 25 daptomycin nonsusceptible (DNS), and 25 vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus strains against dalbavancin, ceftaroline, and vancomycin alone and in combination. Dalbavancin was highly active against hVISA, DNS, and MRSA strains, achieving 96 to 100% susceptibility and 72% susceptibility against VISA strains. The combination of dalbavancin plus ceftaroline reduced dalbavancin MICs 62.5-fold and demonstrated enhanced killing against all four phenotypes in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models. Four strains of the aforementioned phenotypes were randomly chosen for pharmacodynamic/pharmacokinetic simulation models. Of interest, while both dalbavancin and vancomycin in combination with ceftaroline demonstrated significant improvement in glycopeptide fAUC/MIC values against these four phenotypes, the dalbavancin-ceftaroline combinations exhibited a 44- to 11,270-fold higher fAUC/MIC value in comparison to vancomycin-ceftaroline combinations. In addition, the time to detection limit was reduced for this combination (24 to 32 h) versus the vancomycin-ceftaroline combination (24 to 72h). To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study of dalbavancin and vancomycin combinations with ceftaroline. These data provide a novel approach for combating recalcitrant MRSA infections.

Synthesis and evaluation of biological activity for dual-acting antibiotics on the basis of azithromycin and glycopeptides

One of the promising directions of the combined approach is the design of dual-acting antibiotics - heterodimeric structures on the basis of antimicrobial agents of different classes. In this study a novel series of azithromycin-glycopeptide conjugates were designed and synthesized. The structures of the obtained compounds were confirmed using NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry data including MS/MS analysis. All novel hybrid antibiotics were found to be either as active as azithromycin and vancomycin against Gram-positive bacterial strains or have superior activity in comparison with their parent antibiotics. One compound, eremomycin-azithromycin conjugate 16, demonstrated moderate activity against Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis strains resistant to vancomycin, and equal to vancomycin's activity for the treatment of mice with Staphylococcus aureus sepsis.

Subinhibitory Dalbavancin Attenuates Exotoxin Production from Methicillin-Sensitive and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus In Vitro

This study investigated the effects of subinhibitory doses of the lipoglycopeptide antibiotic dalbavancin on Staphylococcus aureus toxin production in vitroS. aureus toxin production levels were compared to those seen with the natural glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin and with representative beta-lactam and oxazolidinone antibiotics. While neither dalbavancin nor vancomycin adversely affected toxin production, of these glycopeptide antibiotics, only dalbavancin significantly attenuated toxin production at subinhibitory concentrations. These findings support the recent success of dalbavancin for treatment of staphylococcal infections.

In vitro activity of dalbavancin against biofilms of staphylococci isolated from prosthetic joint infections

The in vitro activity of dalbavancin was tested against biofilms of 171 staphylococci associated with prosthetic joint infection. Dalbavancin minimum biofilm bactericidal concentration (MBBC) values were: MBBC50 for Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, 1μg/mL; MBBC90 for S. aureus, 2μg/mL; MBBC90 for S. epidermidis, 4μg/mL.

New developments in the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections: considerations for the effective use of dalbavancin

Dalbavancin, an intravenous glycopeptide, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in May 2014 for use in adult patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. The recommended dosing regimen for effective use of dalbavancin is 1,000 mg followed by a 500 mg dose after 1 week. Two multinational, identically designed, non-inferiority trials, DISCOVER 1 and 2, demonstrated similar early clinical success with dalbavancin compared to vancomycin with an option to switch to oral linezolid. In a recently published non-inferiority trial, a single-dose regimen of dalbavancin was compared to the traditional two-dose administration and was found to have a non-inferior clinical response. In the aforementioned trials, dalbavancin was well tolerated, with patients experiencing transient adverse events of mild to moderate severity. The prolonged half-life, excellent skin and soft tissue penetration, bactericidal activity against Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and convenient dosing make dalbavancin a reasonable option for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections in adult patients who have tried and failed other therapies.

Comprehensive update of dalbavancin activity when tested against uncommonly isolated streptococci, Corynebacterium spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and Micrococcus spp. (1357 strains)

Dalbavancin is an investigational lipoglycopeptide having an extended serum elimination half-life allowing once-weekly dosing. Data from testing 1357 strains of uncommonly isolated species expand the dalbavancin spectrum details as follows (MIC50/90): β-haemolytic streptococcal serogroups C, F, and G (≤0.03/≤0.03 μg/mL), 7 viridans group of streptococci (≤0.03/≤0.03-0.06 μg/mL), 5 Corynebacterium spp. (0.06/0.12 μg/mL), Listeria monocytogenes (0.06/0.12 μg/mL), and Micrococcus spp. (≤0.03/≤0.03 μg/mL). Among all reported isolates, 99.8% of tested strains were inhibited at dalbavancin MIC values at ≤0.12 μg/mL. Dalbavancin remains very potent against rarer Gram-positive pathogens, using in vitro test experience with organisms cultured through 2011.