Antimicrobial activity of ceftaroline tested against drug-resistant subsets of Streptococcus pneumoniae from U.S. medical centers.

Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates (6,958) were collected from patients at 163 U.S. medical centers during 2009 through 2012. Isolates were evaluated for multidrug resistance (MDR) to penicillin, ceftriaxone, erythromycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and levofloxacin. Ceftaroline was 16-fold more potent than ceftriaxone (MIC50/MIC90, ≤0.25/2 μg/ml) against all isolates. For MDR isolates (35.2% of tested strains), ceftaroline (MIC50/MIC90, 0.06/0.25 μg/ml; 100.0% susceptible) was the most active agent tested, being 8-fold more potent than ceftriaxone (MIC50/MIC90, 0.5/2 μg/ml) and 16-fold more potent than penicillin (MIC50/MIC90, 1/4 μg/ml).