Teicoplanin in the treatment of infection caused by gram-positive organisms

Teicoplanin was used to treat 94 hospital in-patients of confirmed or presumed Gram-positive infections over a period of 12 months. Eighty-five patients were subsequently found to be evaluable; 31 had soft tissue infections, 10 endocarditis, 8 urinary tract infections, 12 septicaemias, 2 chest infections, 7 osteomyelitis or septic arthritis, and 15 were immunosuppressed patients with infected Hickman line site infections. The cure rate of the 85 evaluable episodes was 90% (76 cured). Teicoplanin was well tolerated intravenously and intramuscularly. Adverse reactions occurred in five patients. One patient suffered high tone hearing loss, two patients suffered transient rash, one developed a drug fever and one patient who had concomitant gentamicin developed vestibular damage. It is concluded that teicoplanin is a relatively safe and effacacious treatment for Gram-positive infection.