Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) is an urgent medical problem due to its growing frequency and its poor associated outcome. As healthcare delivery increasingly involves invasive procedures and implantable devices, the number of patients at risk for SAB and its complications is likely to grow. Compounding this problem is the growing prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and the dwindling efficacy of vancomycin, long the treatment of choice for this pathogen. Despite the recent availability of several new antibiotics for S. aureus, new strategies for treatment and prevention are required for this serious, common cause of human infection.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
Vance G Fowler Jr was supported in part by R01-AI068804. This work was supported by The Danish Heart Foundation (grant 08-10-68-A2155-B778-22512). Dr Fowler also receives grant or research support from Astellas, Cubist, Merck, Theravance, Cerexa, Pfizer, Novartis and Advanced Liquid Logic. He is a paid consultant for Astellas, Cubist Inhibitex, Merch, Johnson & Johnson, Leo Pharmaceuticals, NovaDigm, The Medicines Company, Baxter Pharmaceuticals and Biosynexus. Dr Fowler is on the speaker's bureau and advisory committee for Cubist and has received honoraria from Arpida, Astellas, Cubist, Inhibitex, Merch, Pfizer, Targanta, Theravance, Wyeth, Ortho-McNeil, Novartis and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Niels Bruun is a paid consultatnt for Leo Pharmaceuticals and has received honoraria from Novartis, Pfizer and Roche. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.