The prospective double-blind controlled multicenter trial randomized hospitalized adult patients with hospital-acquired or healthcare-associated MRSA pneumonia to receive intravenous Linezolid (600 mg every 12 hours) or Vancomycin (15 mg/kg every 12 hours) for 7-14 days.
The study was intended to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Linezolid, compared with a dose-optimized Vancomycin regimen, for treatment of MRSA nosocomial pneumonia.
The primary end point was clinical outcome at end of study (EOS) in evaluable per-protocol (PP) patients, and secondary end points included response in the modified intentto- treat (mITT) population at end of treatment (EOT) and EOS and microbiologic response in the PP and mITT populations at EOT and EOS.
The study demonstrated that clinical response at EOS in the PP population was significantly higher with Linezolid compared to Vancomycin, though 60-day mortality was similar.