Overview

• A multicenter randomized trial published in JAMA on August 13 found that two 1,500 mg IV dalbavancin doses administered one week apart met noninferiority criteria versus a 4–8-week standard antibiotic course on the composite DOOR outcome.
• Clinical success rates were comparable between arms, with 73 percent of participants in the dalbavancin group and 72 percent in the standard-therapy group achieving key efficacy and safety endpoints.
• The abbreviated dalbavancin regimen could reduce reliance on peripherally inserted central catheters, home health services and laboratory monitoring by delivering treatment in two outpatient infusions.
• The open-label, assessor-masked trial enrolled 200 hospitalized adults across 23 North American centers but excluded high-risk presentations, limiting its applicability to subgroups such as left-sided endocarditis or central nervous system involvement.
• Researchers are conducting cost-effectiveness analyses to guide insurer coverage decisions and inform potential updates to clinical guidelines for complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia management.