Real-life experience with ceftobiprole in a tertiary-care hospital

Objectives: Ceftobiprole is a new therapeutic option for bacterial pneumonia, with activity against most antimicrobial-resistant Gram-positive cocci, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Data on the use of ceftobiprole in real life are limited. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of ceftobiprole in a context of a hospital practice.

Methods: In a single-centre, observational, retrospective clinical study, we collected data of 29 patients undergoing ceftobiprole therapy, with a focus on clinical outcomes and adverse events.

Results: There was a high burden of comorbidities in the study cohort, including kidney dysfunction (38%) and cancer (24%), and a high proportion of patients with sepsis/septic shock (72%), a central line (41%) or on mechanical ventilation (21%). Most infections were nosocomial (24, 82.8%). Ceftobiprole was mostly prescribed for pneumonia (17 patients, 58.6%), and bloodstream infections (10 patients, 34.5%), both empirically (9 cases, 31%) and as targeted therapy (20, 69%, with staphylococci as the dominant pathogens). It was the first-line drug in 15 cases (51.7%). Overall, a favourable clinical outcome was observed in the majority of cases (68.9%), with clinical cure in 3 (10.3%) and clinical improvement in 17 (58.6%). Failure of treatment occurred in seven cases (24.1%). Three patients experienced a definite ceftobiprole-related adverse event, with two cases of myoclonus. No major adverse effect on bone marrow, kidney or liver function was observed.

Conclusions: Ceftobiprole, even outside current indications, may be a safe and effective treatment for resistant Gram-positive cocci infections where other drugs are inactive or poorly tolerated, and for salvage therapy.