Glycopeptide antibiotics are a class of antibioticdrugs. They consist of a glycosylated cyclic or plycyclic nonribosomal peptide. Important glycopeptide antibiotics include vancomycin, teicoplanin, ramoplanin, and decaplanin. An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ... Many drugs are provided in tablet form. ... Glycosylation is the addition of polysaccharides to molecules such as proteins. ... Nonribosomal peptides (NRP) are secondary metabolites, usually produced by microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. ... Vancomycin is an antibiotic used in the prophylaxis and treament of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria. ... Teicoplanin is an antibiotic used in the prophylaxis and treatment of serious infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria. ...
With the increase of staphylococcal resistance to methicillin, vancomycin (or teicoplanin) is often a treatment of choice in infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
This mechanism of resistance to vancomycin is different to that which happens in enterococcus where there is a change in the target site of the antibiotic, leading to a lower affinity for vancomycin, which gives vancomycin-resistant enterococci high levels of resistance.
At present, high-level resistances to both glycopeptide and beta-lactam antibiotics in Staphylococcus aureus seem to be mutually exclusive, in that both resistances are not seen at once in the same strain of bacterium.
Prophylactic antibiotic therapy should be given at the time of catheter placement in the form of a single dose of a first-generation cephalosporin.
A glycopeptide should not be the initial agent routinely chosen because of the emerging bacterial resistance to glycopeptides.
Antibiotic treatment of a catheter exit-site infection should be started after culture results have been obtained, unless signs of severe infection are present.