In Vitro Activities of Daptomycin, Vancomycin, Quinupristin- Dalfopristin, Linezolid, and Five Other Antimicrobials against 307 Gram-Positive Anaerobic and 31 Corynebacterium Clinical Isolates

Abstract

ABSTRACT The activities of daptomycin, a cyclic lipopeptide, and eight other agents were determined against 338 strains of gram-positive anaerobic bacteria and corynebacteria by the NCCLS reference agar dilution method with supplemented brucella agar for the anaerobes and Mueller-Hinton agar for the corynebacteria. The daptomycin MICs determined on Ca 2+ -supplemented (50 mg/liter) brucella agar plates were one- to fourfold lower than those determined in unsupplemented media. Daptomycin was highly active (MICs, ≤2 μg/ml) against many strains including 36 of 37 peptostreptococci, 37 of 48 isolates of the Eubacterium group, and all strains of Propionibacterium spp., Clostridium perfringens , Clostridium difficile , and other Clostridium spp. It was fourfold or greater more active than vancomycin against Clostridium innocuum and 16 of 34 strains of vancomycin-resistant lactobacilli. Three strains of C. difficile for which quinupristin-dalfopristin and linezolid MICs were >8 μg/ml were inhibited by <1 μg of daptomycin per ml. Daptomycin MICs were ≥4 μg/ml for most strains of Clostridium clostridioforme , Clostridium paraputrificum , Clostridium tertium , and Clostridium ramosum ; the isolates were generally more resistant to other antimicrobials. Daptomycin was two- to fourfold less active against Actinomyces spp. than vancomycin, quinupristin-dalfopristin, or linezolid. Twenty-nine of 31 strains of Corynebacterium spp., including Corynebacterium jeikeium , Corynebacterium amycolatum , and Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum , were inhibited by ≤0.25 μg of daptomycin per ml. For two strains of “ Corynebacterium aquaticum ,” 8 μg of daptomycin per ml was required for inhibition. Daptomycin demonstrated very good activities against a broad range of gram-positive organisms including vancomycin-resistant C. innocuum and lactobacillus strains and quinupristin-dalfopristin- and linezolid-resistant C. difficile strains.