Safety and Efficacy of Dalbavancin in Real Life: Retrospective Analysis of a Large Monocentric Case Series of Patients Treated for Skin/Soft Tissue and Other Difficult-to-Treat Infections

Abstract

Background: Dalbavancin is a long-acting lipoglycopeptide, approved for treatment of skin and skin structure infections. Its PK/PD profile and safety allow for short hospital stays even in the case of difficult-to-treat infections requiring long courses of therapy, e.g., osteomyelitis, cardiovascular, and prosthetic infections. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of dalbavancin in real life settings for both in-label and off-label indications. Methods: retrospective evaluation of all consecutive patients treated with dalbavancin at our site between May 2017 and September 2021. Results: A total of 100 patients treated with dalbavancin and followed up for 6 months after treatment (58% male; median age 63.5 years, median Charlson Comorbidity Index CCI = 2.7, 28% inpatients) were included with the following indications: acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (22%), bone and prosthetic infections (57%), and cardiovascular infections (19%). Infections were caused by MSSA (30%), MRSA (5%), MR-CoNS (20%), and Streptococcus spp. (8%). In 32 cases, no isolate was obtained. The average number of infusions was 5 (s.d. = 3). Neither ensuing alteration of renal function nor neutropenia or thrombocytopenia were observed during treatment and follow-up. Two self-limiting skin rashes occurred. The overall clinical success rate was 84%-91% for registered and 82% for unregistered indications. The prescription of higher loading doses was the only predictor independently associated with better outcomes in multivariate models (OR: 5.2, 95%CI: 1.5-17.9, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Dalbavancin proved to be effective for skin and skin structure infections, as well as for difficult-to-treat infections in highly comorbid patients. Regarding tolerability, our results support the use of dalbavancin for long-lasting treatments of deep-seated infections.

Keywords: Gram-positive infections; antibiotic therapy; dalbavancin; infections; tolerability.

Figure 1

Clinical success rates among different types of infections.

Figure 2

Clinical success rates for registered and unregistered indications, calculated on the whole sample (yellow bars) and on patients with culture proved infections (blue bars).