[Therapeutic principles of staphylococcal infections--Role and limitations of standard compounds]

Abstract

Antibiotic therapy plays an important (but not exclusive) role in the treatment of staphylococcal infections. Measures aimed at reducing the bacterial inoculum through local procedures must be envisaged as often as possible. The removal of any foreign, infected materials is essential to success. In this article, we review the different, active antibiotics available, their advantages and disadvantages and their indications. In the light of these data, we propose a therapeutic approach to severe bacterial infection caused by a cluster of Gram-positive cocci. Staphylococcal infections pose daily therapeutic problems, whether in open-care practice or intensive care units. The specificity of staphylococcal infections encountered in an intensive care setting require a therapeutic approach which takes account of the context, and particularly of the incidence of resistant staphylococcal infections.