Promotionsstipendien I/2021

Thema:"Impact of cefazolin and flucloxacillin on Staphylococcus aureus isolates from endocarditis"

Zusammenfassung:
Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of bacteremia and infective endocarditis (IE) in industrial countries. Apart from acute infections, S. aureus can develop persisting strategies leading to biofilm and the formation of small colony variants (SCVs) that are difficult to treat. Anti-staphylococcal penicillins (ASP) such as flucloxacillin are the most important antimicrobials to treat methicillin sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) endocarditis (SAE), but when patients are allergic to penicillin, first generation cephalosporins such as cefazolin are the first option. Cefazolin is favored because of its administration schedule and is considered less toxic than ASPs, but there is concern with treatment failure. Still, some patients surviving a first episode of IE have a significantly worse survival than the general population due to a higher risk of recurrence. Thus, several studies discuss the use of cefazolin and flucloxacillin for SAE. However, these two antimicrobials have never been compared in vitro. In a preliminary study, we investigated the effect of cefazolin on virulence and persistence of S. aureus that may promote a recurrence. The next step is to perform the experiments with flucloxacillin to compare all findings. The results of these studies will contribute to improve the treatment of SAE.