Clinical outcomes of teicoplanin for Corynebacterium species bacteremia: A retrospective observational study

Vancomycin (VCM) is commonly used as targeted therapy for Corynebacterium species bacteremia. Although teicoplanin (TEIC) is considered a potential alternative, clinical evidence supporting its use remains limited because of the small number of reported cases. This study evaluated the clinical effectiveness and safety of TEIC compared with VCM for the treatment of Corynebacterium species bacteremia.

We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients with Corynebacterium species bacteremia who received either VCM (n = 25) or TEIC (n = 14) between January 2014 and December 2025. The primary outcome was clinical success at the end of therapy. Secondary outcomes included microbiological success and safety.

Clinical success rates were high in both groups (VCM, 78.3%; TEIC, 81.8%), and microbiological success was achieved in nearly all patients. The TEIC group consisted predominantly of immunocompromised patients with hematological malignancies. Despite these high-risk clinical characteristics, TEIC showed favorable clinical effectiveness and safety.

TEIC may represent a reasonable treatment option for Corynebacterium species bacteremia. Favorable outcomes were observed even among immunocompromised patients with hematological malignancies.