In clinical studies on bacteraemia, the negativity of blood cultures is an important endpoint for comparing the efficacy of different therapeutic regimens. In FAN anaerobic blood culture medium (BacT/ALERT system), daptomycin displayed increased MIC against Staphylococcus aureus and improved abolishment of its carryover effect in charcoal when compared with vancomycin. Differences between these two drugs can lead to a false interpretation of negative blood cultures. To compare different antibiotic regimens for the treatment of bacteraemia, preliminary studies are mandatory to ensure that ex vivo antibiotic behaviour is similar in the blood-culture system used.
© 2011 The Authors. Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2011 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.