The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7179 p873-877
22-29 December 2001

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Linezolid superior to teicoplanin in treatment of G-positive infections

Patients with Gram-positive infections who are treated with the oxazolidinone linezolid (Zyvox) respond better than those treated with teicoplanin (Targocid), new data indicate.

In a study, sponsored by Pharmacia, manufacturer of linezolid, 430 patients with suspected or proven Gram-positive infections were randomly assigned to receive either linezolid or teicoplanin for up to 28 days.

In patients with pneumonia and skin or soft tissue infections, rates of investigator-defined success were similar for both treatments. However, in patients with Gram-positive bacteraemia, 88.5 per cent of those treated with linezolid were successfully treated compared with 56.7 per cent of patients treated with teicoplanin (P=0.009). Fewer clinical failures occurred in the linezolid group (4.5 per cent versus 12.4 per cent) but long-term success rates were similar between the groups. The study showed that both treatments were well tolerated with similar adverse events reported in both groups.

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