Paradoxical dose effect of continuously administered cloxacillin in treatment of tolerant Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis in rats.

The efficacies of different doses of cloxacillin administered by continuous infusion were compared in the treatment of endocarditis in rats caused by a beta-lactam tolerant strain of Staphylococcus aureus and its non-tolerant variant. In-vitro killing of the tolerant strain was maximal at a concentration near the MIC, while at higher concentrations the rate of killing gradually decreased, a paradoxical effect, not found for the non-tolerant strain. During treatment of endocarditis caused by a tolerant strain, the reduction of bacterial numbers in the infected vegetations decreased significantly with increasing doses of cloxacillin. Thus for the tolerant strain a paradoxical dose effect was also apparent in vivo. For the non-tolerant strain this paradoxical effect was not found. Furthermore, continuous administration of cloxacillin was significantly less effective in reducing bacterial numbers in the vegetations for the tolerant strain than for the non-tolerant strain. The results of this study suggest that the phenomenon of tolerance, demonstrated in vitro, may have a significant influence on the outcome of treatment of S. aureus endocarditis with continuously administered cloxacillin, particularly when high doses of antibiotic are used.