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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 May 30.
Published in final edited form as: Clin Infect Dis. 2009 Jul 1;49(1):1–45. doi: 10.1086/599376

Table 5.

Intravenous antimicrobial treatment of intravenous catheter-related bloodstream infection in adults according to the specific pathogen isolated.

Pathogen Preferred antimicrobial agent Example, dosagea Alternative antimicrobial agent Comment
Gram-positive cocci
Staphylococcus aureus
  Meth susceptible Penicillinase-resistant Penb Naf or Oxa, 2 g q4h Cfaz, 2 g q8h; or Vm, 15 mg/kg q12h Penicillinase-resistant Pen or Csps are preferred to Vm.c For patients receiving hemodialysis, administer Cfaz 20 mg/kg (actual weight), round to nearest 500-mg increment, after dialysis
  Meth resistante Vm Vm, 15 mg/kg q12h Dapto, 6–8 mg/kg per day, or linezolid; or Vm plus (Rif or Gm); or TMP-SMZ alone (if susceptible) Strains of S. aureus with reduced susceptibility or resistance to Vm have been reported; strains resistant to linezolid and strains resistant to Dapto have been reported
 Coagulase-negative staphylococci
  Meth susceptible Penicillinase-resistant Pen Naf or Oxa, 2 g q4h First-generation Csp or Vm or TMP-SMZ (if susceptible) Vm has dosing advantages over Naf and Oxa, but the latter are preferred because of concerns about increasing Vm resistance
  Meth resistant Vm Vm, 15 mg/kg iv q12h Linezolid, Dapto 6 mg/kg per day, or Quin/Dalf For adults <40 kg, linezolid dose should be 10 mg/kg; strains resistant to linezolid have been reported
Enterococcus faecalis/Enterococcus faecium
  Amp susceptible Amp or (Amp or Pen) ± aminoglycoside Amp, 2 g q4h or q6h; or Amp ± Gm, 1 mg/kg q8h Vm Vm may have dosing advantages over Amp, but there are concerns about Vm resistance
  Amp resistant, Vm susceptible Vm ± aminoglycoside Vm, 15 mg/kg iv q12h ± Gm, 1 mg/kg q8h Linezolid or Dapto 6 mg/kg per day Quin/Dalf is not effective against E. faecalis
  Amp resistant, Vm resistant Linezolid or Dapto Linezolid, 600 mg q12h; or Dapto 6 mg/kg per day Quin/Dalf 7.5 mg/kg q8h Susceptibility of Vm-resistant enterococci isolates varies; Quin/Dalf is not effective against E. faecalis
Gram-negative bacillid
Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species
  ESBL negative Third-generation Csp Ctri, 12 g per day Cipro or Atm Susceptibility of strains varies
  ESBL positive Carbapenem Erta, 1 g per day; Imi, 500 mg q6h; or Mero, 1 g 8 hr Cipro or Atm Susceptibility of strains varies
Enterobacter species and Serratia marcescens Carbapenem Erta, 1 g per day; Imi, 500 mg q6h; Mero, 1 g q8h Cefepime or Cipro Susceptibility of strains varies
Acinetobacter species Amp/Sulb or carbapenem Amp/Sulb, 3 g q6h; or Imi, 500 mg q6h; Mero, 1 g q8h Susceptibility of strains varies
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia TMP-SMZ TMP-SMZ, 35 mg/kg q8h Tic and Clv
Pseudomonas aeruginosa Fourth-generation Csp or carbapenem or Pip and Tazo with or without aminoglycoside Cefepime, 2 g q8h; or Imi, 500 mg q6h; or Mero, 1 g q8h; or Pip and Tazo, 4.5 g q6h, Amik, 15 mg/kg q24h or Tobra 5–7 mg/kg q24h Susceptibility of strains varies
Burkholderia cepacia TMP-SMZ or carbapenem TMP-SMZ, 35 mg/kg q8h; or Imi, 500 mg q6h; or Mero, 1 g q8h Other species, such as B. acidovorans and B. pickieii, may be susceptible to same antimicrobial agents
Fungi
Candida albicans or other Candida species Echinocandin or fluconazole (if organism is susceptible) Caspo, 70 mg/kg loading dose, then 50 mg/kg per day; micafungin, 100 mg per day; anidulafungin, 200 mg loading dose followed by 100 mg per day; or fluconazole, 400–600 mg per day Lipid AmB preparations Echinocandin should be used to treat critically ill patients until fungal isolate is identified
Uncommon pathogens
Corynebacterium jeikeium (group JK) Vm Vm, 15 mg/kg q12h Linezolid (based on in vitro activity) Check susceptibilities for other corynebacteria
Chryseobacterium (Flavobacterium) species Fluoroquinolone, such as Lvfx Lvfx 750 mg q24h TMP-SMZ or Imi or Mero Based on in vitro activity.
Ochrobacterium anthropi TMP-SMZ or fluoroquinolone TMP-SMZ, 35 mg/kg q8h; or Cpfx, 400 mg q12h Imi or Mero plus aminoglycoside
Malassezia furfur AmB Voriconazole Intravenous lipids should be discontinued; some experts recommend removal of catheter
Mycobacterium species Susceptibility varies by species Different species have wide spectra of susceptibility to antimicrobials [256, 257]

NOTE. See S. aureus section of the text regarding important antibiotic management issues concerning linezolid. AmB, amphotericin B; Amp, ampicillin; Atm, aztreonam; Cfaz, cefazolin; cfur, cefuroxime; Clv, clavulanate; Cpfx, ciprofloxacin; Csp, cephalosporin; Ctri, ceftriaxone; Czid, ceftazidime; Erta, ertapenem; Gm, gentamicin; Imi, Imipenem; iv, intravenous; Ket, ketoconazole; Lvfx, levofloxacin; Mero, meropenem; Meth, methicillin; Mez, mezlocillin; Naf, nafcillin; Oxa, oxacillin; Pen, penicillin; PenG, penicillin G; po, by mouth; Pip, piperacillin; Quin/Dalf, quinupristin/dalfopristin; Rif, rifampin; Sulb, sulbactam; Tic, ticarcillin; Tm, tobramycin; TMP-SMZ, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole; Vm, vancomycin.

a

Initial antibiotic dosages for adult patients with normal renal and hepatic function and no known drug interactions. Fluoroquinolones should not be used for patients <18 years of age (see the section of the text devoted to treating pediatric infection [256, 257]).

b

Pen, if the strain is susceptible.

c

Some clinicians will add an aminoglycoside for the first 5 days of therapy.

d

Pending susceptibility results for the isolate.