Surgical infections
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Surgical infections · Jan 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEffect of linezolid versus vancomycin on length of hospital stay in patients with complicated skin and soft tissue infections caused by known or suspected methicillin-resistant staphylococci: results from a randomized clinical trial.
Complicated skin and soft tissue infections are common surgical indications usually requiring patients to be hospitalized, and are often caused by gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant staphylococci such as MRSA. Vancomycin has been the standard treatment for methicillin-resistant staphylococcal infections in many countries, but its intravenous-only formulation for systemic infections often confines patients to the hospital for the treatment. Linezolid, a novel oxazolidinone antibiotic available in intravenous and 100% bioavailable oral forms, was shown in a randomized trial to be as efficacious as vancomycin for suspected or proven methicillin-resistant staphylococcal infections. To determine if oral linezolid can reduce length of hospital stay (LOS) when compared to vancomycin, we compared the LOS for the 230 complicated skin and soft tissue infection patients enrolled in this trial. ⋯ Results from this randomized trial show that linezolid can significantly reduce LOS for patients with complicated skin and soft tissue infections from suspected or confirmed methicillin-resistant staphylococci.