Ceftobiprole medocaril is an effective treatment against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) mediastinitis in a rat model

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) mediastinitis after median sternotomy is a major complication of cardiac surgery with significant morbidity and mortality rates. We evaluated the efficacy of ceftobiprole medocaril in a new rat model of mediastinitis and compared it to vancomycin. The model was induced in 92 rats. Infection was induced immediately after median sternotomy by the injection of MRSA (strain 3020, 1 × 10⁷ cfu/rat) into the sternal bone. After 24 h, rats (groups of 6-8) were treated intraperitoneally for 5 days or 14 days by either: (i) saline (control, q8h), (ii) ceftobiprole medocaril (70 or 100 mg/kg, q8h), or (iii) vancomycin (50 mg/kg, q12h). Efficacy was determined by a reduction in bacterial cfu in the sternum and spleen tissues. Comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney test. A 5-day treatment course of ceftobiprole at both doses tested lead to a significant reduction in MRSA load in the sternum (p < 0.01) as compared to the control group and compared to 5-day vancomycin treatment, which lead to a non-significant reduction (p = 0.07). Longer treatment (14 days) with ceftobiprole lead to a complete clearance of MRSA from the sternum, similarly to vancomycin. Ceftobiprole also showed a significant effect on eliminating MRSA dissemination to the spleen compared to saline-treated rats. Ceftobiprole was effective in treating MRSA mediastinitis in the rat model. In the 5-day course, ceftobiprole showed a significant reduction in sternal MRSA counts and was superior to vancomycin. After 14 days, both ceftobiprole and vancomycin showed clearance of MRSA from the sternum in more than 50 % of rats and almost complete clearance in the remainder.