[Treatment of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus with linezolid in paediatric hospitals].

OBJECTIVE

To describe the use of linezolid in vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus infections in a paediatric hospital.

METHOD

Retrospective, observational study of hospitalised patients at the "Juan P. Garrahan" paediatric hospital receiving linezolid for the treatment of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, during the period between January 2002 and July 2004.

RESULTS

During 18 months, linezolid was prescribed 17 times for a total of 15 seriously ill patients. The median age was 7 years old (range: 1 month-15 years) and the median length of the treatment was 15 days, with an average hospital stay of 74 days. Infection with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus was microbiologically documented in 11 (73.3%) patients; they all responded to treatment with linezolid with the exception of two, who died while receiving treatment. The most frequently reported adverse reactions were of a haematological nature (55.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Linezolid was effective and moderately well tolerated for the treatment of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in children with life-threatening infections.