Proposed MIC and disk diffusion microbiological cutoffs and spectrum of activity of retapamulin, a novel topical antimicrobial agent

Retapamulin, the first pleuromutilin antimicrobial agent approved for the topical treatment of skin infections in humans, was tested against 987 clinical isolates representing 30 species and/or resistance groups. MICs were determined along with disk diffusion zone diameters using a 2-microg disk. Population distribution and MIC versus disk zone diameter scattergrams were analyzed to determine microbiological MIC cutoff values and inhibition zone correlates. Minimum bactericidal concentrations were performed on a smaller subset of key species. The retapamulin MIC(90) against 234 Staphylococcus aureus isolates and 110 coagulase-negative staphylococci was 0.12 microg/ml. Retapamulin MIC(90)s ranged from 0.03 to 0.06 microg/ml against beta-hemolytic streptococci including 102 Streptococcus pyogenes, 103 Streptococcus agalactiae, 59 group C Streptococcus, and 71 group G Streptococcus isolates. The MIC(90) against 55 viridans group streptococci was 0.25 microg/ml. Retapamulin had very little activity against 151 gram-negative bacilli and most of the Enterococcus species tested. Based on the data from this study, for staphylococci, MICs of or=2 microg/ml with corresponding disk diffusion values of >or=20 mm, 17 to 19 mm, and or=15 mm can be proposed for susceptible-only microbiological cutoffs.