A clinical trial on efficacy and safety of teicoplanin in combination with beta-lactams and aminoglycosides in the treatment of severe sepsis of patients undergoing allogeneic/autologous bone marrow transplantation.

Early institution of empiric therapy with a broad-spectrum antibiotic has markedly reduced the morbidity and mortality from infections complicating severe or prolonged cytopenia in patients receiving either an allogeneic or autologous bone marrow transplant. Ceftazidime in combination with an aminoglycoside, i.e. netilmicin, has been established as a combination schedule offering low or even avoiding therapy-related toxicity. We evaluated teicoplanin for suspected Gram-positive infections after inadequate response to initial beta-lactam and aminoglycoside combination therapy. All 11 patients so far included in this study received either an allogeneic (five patients) or an autologous (six patients) bone marrow transplant for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL, high grade) or other malignant diseases. All patients developing a primary septicaemia of unknown origin (10 patients) or a catheter related septicaemia (one patient) were treated with 400 mg teicoplanin, administered i.v. once daily in combination with a cephalosporin and an aminoglycoside (ceftazidime 2 g, i.v., t.i.d., netilmicin 400 mg once daily). All 11 patients responded to therapy, 10 patients were clinically cured, one patient improved under therapy. The therapeutic regimen was well tolerated and adverse drug reactions did not occur. We have not observed any delayed take of prolonged neutropenia or thrombocytopenia with this therapeutic regimen when compared to other bone marrow transplant patients who did not receive this antimicrobial therapy. Our preliminary results suggest that teicoplanin is a potentially effective and well-tolerated antimicrobial agent in bone marrow transplant patients with infections not responding primarily to beta-lactams and aminoglycosides.