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Activity of ceftaroline against recent emerging serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae in the United States

Michael R Jacobs1, Caryn E Good, Anne R Windau

  • 1Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center/CWRU, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. mrj6@cwru.edu

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
|March 24, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Ceftaroline demonstrated potent in vitro activity against pneumococci, including resistant strains. This finding supports its use for treating pneumococcal infections.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Pneumococcal infections remain a significant public health concern.
  • Antimicrobial resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae necessitates ongoing surveillance and evaluation of new therapeutic agents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the in vitro activity of ceftaroline against a large collection of contemporary pneumococcal isolates.
  • To compare the potency of ceftaroline with other commonly used antibiotics against Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Main Methods:

  • In vitro susceptibility testing was performed on 891 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates.
  • Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) and MIC90 values were determined for ceftaroline and comparator agents.
  • Isolates were collected from 22 centers across the United States in 2008.

Main Results:

  • Ceftaroline exhibited potent activity, with MICs ranging from <0.008 to 0.5 microg/ml and MIC90s from <0.008 to 0.25 microg/ml against 11 prevalent serotypes.
  • Overall susceptibility rates varied: levofloxacin (99.4%) and vancomycin (100%) showed high susceptibility, while others like erythromycin (61.6%) and cefuroxime (70.1%) were lower.
  • Serotype 19A isolates displayed the lowest susceptibility rates among the tested strains.

Conclusions:

  • Ceftaroline is a highly potent antimicrobial agent against Streptococcus pneumoniae.
  • The data support the clinical utility of ceftaroline for treating pneumococcal infections, even those involving strains resistant to other antibiotics.

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