Table 3.

Guideline recommended uses for linezolid

Guideline and reference	Key recommendations and level of evidence
MRSA infections83	Linezolid is one of the recommended antibiotics for complicated SSTIs (2), pneumonia (2), bone and joint infections (3), CNS infections (3).
HAP/VAP/HCAP84	Two large multicenter trials of linezolid demonstrated equivalence to vancomycin in patients with HAP (2); linezolid may be better than vancomycin in patients with renal failure and VAP (2).
Bacterial meningitis86	Linezolid is an alternative to vancomycin (3).
Diabetic foot infections87	Linezolid is one of the recommended antibiotics (2); it is not approved for osteomyelitis.
Skin and soft tissue infections88	Linezolid is an option due to high prevalence of CA-MRSA for hospitalized patients with severe infection or whose infection is progressing despite empirical antibiotics (2).

Notes: Level of evidence: 1, strong evidence from at least one systematic review; 2, evidence from randomized controlled trials; 3, evidence from well-designed trials without randomization, single group pre-/postintervention, cohort, time series, or matched case control series; 4, evidence from well-designed nonexperimental, observational studies from more than one center or research group; 5, expert opinion, descriptive studies, and reports of expert committees.

Abbreviations: HAP, hospital-acquired pneumonia; VAP, ventilator-associated pneumonia; HCAP, healthcare-associated pneumonia; SSTIs, skin and soft tissue infections; CNS, central nervous system; CA-MRSA, community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.