Tigecycline as effective as vancomycin plus aztreonam in the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections: Experience in Latin America

Background: Treating complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs) can be challenging. Tigecycline was compared to vancomycin/aztreonam in patients with cSSSIs in a multinational trial; this article reports on the Latin American (LA) population. Methods:: Patients were randomly assigned to receive tigecycline or vancomycin/aztreonam. Primary endpoint was clinical cure rate at test-of-cure (TOC). Several secondary endpoints and safety were also assessed. Results: A subtotal of 167 LA patients from the multinational trial (N = 573) received >= 1 dose of study drug. At TOC, cure rates were similar between tigecycline and vancomycin/aztreonam in the clinically evaluable population.) Noninferiority of tigecycline could not be demonstrated (insufficient sample sizes). Tigecycline-treated patients had higher incidences of nausea, vomiting, anorexia; vancomycin/aztreonam-treated patients had higher incidences of pruritus and rash, Conclusions: Efficacy results in the LA population were consistent with the multinational study suggesting that tigecycline is noninferior to vancomycin/aztreonam in treating patients with cSSSI.