Multidrug microbial resistance poses major challenges to the management of infection, particularly with the paucity of new drugs with activity against these bacteria. Since the turn of this century a few new antibiotics have been licensed, including linezolid, daptomycin and tigecycline. This supplement reports data presented at the 13th International Congress of Infectious Diseases held in Kuala Lumpur in June 2008. Dr R. Isturiz reviews the data on global resistance trends and the potential impact on empirical therapy; Dr J.-H. Song reviews new agents on the antimicrobial horizon; and the final paper in the supplement, by Dr L.R. Peterson, reviews the role of tigecycline in the management of complicated intra-abdominal and skin and soft tissue infections.
Matched MeSH terms: Oxazolidinones/therapeutic use
Hospital-acquired vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) were first reported in the late 1980s and have since been an increasing problem worldwide. Kuala Lumpur Hospital thus far, to the best of our knowledge has been spared from this pathogen. We describe the first confirmed case of Enterococcus faecium exhibiting the van A phenotype in our hospital, in a patient with chronic renal failure who was successfully treated with linezolid. The microbiology laboratory plays an important role in the identification and detection of VRE.
Matched MeSH terms: Oxazolidinones/therapeutic use