Lack of Efficacy of Oral Bacitracin Plus Doxycycline for the Eradication of Stool Colonization with Vancomycin‐Resistant Enterococcus faecium

Abstract

In a prospective observational cohort study designed to assess the role of oral bacitracin solution plus doxycycline in the eradication of intestinal carriage of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) in patients on a renal ward, rectal swab specimens were obtained from 15 treated and 24 control patients. Cultures of the rectal swabs were negative for 15 (100%) of the antibiotic-treated vs. eight (33.3%) of the untreated patients (P < .001) on day 14. However, follow-up for a mean of 127 and 130 days revealed 9 of 15 (60%) and 15 of 24 (62.5%) in the treated and untreated cohorts (P = .86), respectively, carried VREF intermittently or persistently. Quantitative VREF stool cultures in the treated cohort revealed an initial 3.1-log₁₀/g decrease, but there was an increase to pretreatment levels at 2–4 and 5–7 weeks post-treatment (7.8 and 7.4 log₁₀/g). Oral bacitracin and doxycycline were not efficacious in reducing the carriage of VREF beyond the 2-week interval during which they were given.