Evaluation of ceftobiprole medocaril against Enterococcus faecalis in a mouse peritonitis model

Ceftobiprole is a novel broad-spectrum cephalosporin with good in vitro activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. The objective of this study was to assess the in vivo activity of ceftobiprole against four strains of E. faecalis, including beta-lactamase- producing (Bla+) and vancomycin-resistant strains.

Mice were infected intraperitoneally with strains of E. faecalis: (i) the Bla+ strain HH22; (ii) two vancomycin-resistant strains (TX2484 and V583); and (iii) OG1RF (a laboratory strain), using 10 x the LD50 for each strain. Ceftobiprole doses of 25, 12.5 and 6.25 mg/kg (single doses) and ampicillin 50, 25, 12.5 and 6.25 mg/kg (single and double doses) were administered subcutaneously immediately after bacterial challenge and mice were monitored for 96 h.

All four E. faecalis had ceftobiprole MICs 100 mg/kg, whereas ceftobiprole was protective (PD50 of 2 mg/kg). Ceftobiprole PD50s for vancomycin-resistant isolates TX2484 and V583 were 7.7 and 5.2 mg/kg, respectively, similar to those of single dose ampicillin (12.5 and 16.4 mg/kg, respectively). For OG1RF, both ampicillin and ceftobiprole protected all mice at doses of 25 and 12.5 mg/kg, respectively, with a PD50 of 4.2 and 8 mg/kg for ceftobiprole and ampicillin, respectively.

Ceftobiprole had comparable in vivo activity to that of ampicillin against vancomycin-resistant and ampicillin-susceptible strains of E. faecalis in the mouse peritonitis model. Ceftobiprole was superior in vivo to ampicillin against the Bla+ strain HH22. Our data support the further study of ceftobiprole as a therapeutic agent in humans infected with E. faecalis.