Daptomycin for eradication of a systemic infection with a methicillin-resistant-Staphylococcus aureus in a biventricular assist device recipient.

The rate of infection in patients who require ventricular assist devices is estimated at more than 35%. Infections with multi-resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in ventricular assist device recipients are often difficult to treat and present a high mortality rate. Daptomycin is a new cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic, useful in gram-positive organisms resistant to standard treatment. We report a case of a 65-year-old man suffering from a dilatative cardiomyopathy and concomitant MRSA infection who received a biventricular assist device. The patient had MRSA sepsis develop resistant to conventional therapy, which was successfully treated with daptomycin.