Five-year real-world experience with off-label dalbavancin treatment for complex gram-positive infections at a Swedish tertiary hospital.

BACKGROUND

Dalbavancin is a long-acting lipoglycopeptide approved for acute bacterial skin and soft-tissue infections. Its prolonged half-life enables outpatient treatment, reducing the burden of hospitalisation. Despite increasing off-label use for complex Gram-positive infections, real-world effectiveness data remain limited.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of dalbavancin in a real-world tertiary care setting in Sweden.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed the medical records of all patients (n = 66) who received dalbavancin in Region Västmanland, Sweden, from 2019 to 2023. Patient characteristics, source of infection, identified pathogens, treatment regimens, and outcomes were extracted from medical records. The primary outcome was clinical cure at 6 months; secondary outcomes included mortality, need for suppressive therapy, and adverse events.

RESULTS

Sixty-six patients (median age 73 years; 47% female) received dalbavancin for orthopaedic/bone infections (56%), endocarditis (23%), vascular graft infections (6%), bacteraemia (6%), sacral ulcer infections (6%), and other infections (3%). The patients had significant comorbidities: diabetes (38%), malignancy (33%), chronic kidney disease (44%), and substance use disorders (17%)."Methicillin-susceptible" Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant pathogen (31% of isolates). Dalbavancin was prescribed to facilitate outpatient therapy (53%), address poor compliance (17%), or manage antibiotic intolerances (17%). Patients received a median of 2 doses (range 1-17). At 6-month follow-up, 62% achieved clinical cure, 18% remained on suppressive therapy, and 20% died, primarily from underlying conditions. Adverse events were infrequent (6%) and generally mild.

CONCLUSIONS

Dalbavancin achieved a 62% cure rate despite significant comorbidities, offering a safe alternative to inpatient care for elderly, comorbid patients.