Zyvox (Pfizer)effective for patients with MRSA

Zyvox (linezolid) from Pfizer may be more effective than the antibiotic vancomycin in treating ventilated patients who develop methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia as a result of their ventilation, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2011 Conference in Denver. In the study 286 patients with MRSA ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) were randomized to treatment with either vancomycin or Zyvox (linezolid). The researchers measured clinical success, which required eradication of the pathogen along with clinical signs of improvement, and microbiologic success, based on results obtained from cultures. These were measured approximately 10 days after enrollment (end of treatment) and at approximately 28 days after enrollment (end of study). The microbiological success rates with linezolid were 76.6 percent compared to 57.7 percent with vancomycin at end of treatment, and 56.2 percent with linezolid to 47.1 percent with vancomycin at the end of the study.