CAMERA2 - combination antibiotic therapy for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection: study protocol...

Area of Science:

• Clinical microbiology and infectious diseases
• Pharmacology and therapeutics

Background:

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia has high mortality (20-50%) and limited treatment options.
• Vancomycin is the current standard, but daptomycin has not shown superiority.
• In vitro and in vivo studies suggest synergy between vancomycin/daptomycin and anti-staphylococcal β-lactams.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if adding an anti-staphylococcal penicillin to standard therapy improves clinical outcomes in MRSA bacteraemia.
• Evaluate the efficacy of combination therapy in a randomized controlled trial.

Main Methods:

• Open-label, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial at 29 international sites.
• Adults with MRSA bacteraemia randomized to standard therapy (vancomycin or daptomycin) or standard therapy plus 7 days of an anti-staphylococcal β-lactam.
• Primary endpoint: composite of 90-day all-cause mortality, persistent bacteraemia, microbiological relapse, or treatment failure. Recruitment target: 440 patients.

Main Results:

• This section is not available in the provided abstract.

Conclusions:

• Adding anti-staphylococcal β-lactams to standard MRSA bacteraemia therapy offers potential advantages.
• These advantages include a favorable safety profile, low cost, and widespread availability of β-lactam antibiotics.