Skip Navigation
Menu
Editorials |21 March 2006

Telithromycin

Michelle Turner, PharmD; G. Ralph Corey, MD; Elias Abrutyn, MD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • From Campbell University School of Pharmacy and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710; Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC 27710; and Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192.

    Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest: Employment: G.R. Corey (Duke University Medical Center); Consultancies: G.R. Corey (Cubist).

    Requests for Single Reprints: Michelle Turner, PharmD, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3089, Durham, NC 27710.

    Current Author Addresses: Dr. Turner: Duke University Medical Center, Box 3089, Durham, NC 27710.

    Dr. Corey: Duke Clinical Research Institute, 2400 Pratt Street, Room 7030Durham, NC 27710.

    Dr. Abrutyn: Drexel University College of Medicine, Mailstop 441, 245 North 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192.

×
FULL TEXT
Elsewhere in this issue, Clay and colleagues (1) describe a serious adverse event related to telithromycin. This report should cause physicians who prescribe telithromycin to pause in order to be sure it is the right antibiotic for the circumstances. Herein we provide information about telithromycin to help clinicians decide when to prescribe it.
Telithromycin (Ketek, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Bridgewater, New Jersey), the first marketed ketolide antibiotic, is a modification of the macrolide structure. Like macrolides (2), telithromycin blocks protein synthesis (3). However, compared with macrolides, it has increased affinity for the binding sites on domains II and V of the 50S ribosomal subunit (4). This attribute provides increased activity against bacteria that are resistant to macrolides because of both methylation- and efflux pump–mediated mechanisms (ermB and mefA, respectively) (2). Telithromycin is active in vitro against bacterial pathogens most commonly isolated from patients with mild to moderate community-acquired respiratory tract infections. These include infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae (both penicillin- and macrolide-resistant strains) as well as ß-lactamase–producing strains of Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis(5, 6). Telithromycin is also active in vitro against Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophilia pneumoniae(7). While telithromycin demonstrates potent in vitro activity against other respiratory pathogens (such as Legionella pneumophila and Bordetella pertussis), clinical data about its effectiveness for these infections is limited. It is not active against erythromycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(2).
FULL TEXT
PDF
Not Available
Citations
Citation

Turner M, Corey GR, Abrutyn E. Telithromycin. Ann Intern Med. ;144:447–448. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-144-6-200603210-00014

Download citation file:

© 2018

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 2006;144(6):447-448.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-144-6-200603210-00014

©
2006 American College of Physicians
5 Citations

Related Articles
Brief Communication: Severe Hepatotoxicity of Telithromycin: Three Case Reports and Literature Review
Annals of Internal Medicine; 144 (6): 415-420
Telithromycin: A Possible Cause of Severe Liver Damage?
Annals of Internal Medicine; 144 (6): I-42
View MoreView Less

Related Topics
Autoimmune Kidney Disease
Gastroenterology/Hepatology
Infectious Disease
Liver Disease
Nephrology

Autoimmune Kidney Disease, Gastroenterology/Hepatology, Infectious Disease, Liver Disease, Nephrology.

PubMed Articles
Mechanistic in vitro studies indicate that the clinical drug-drug interaction between telithromycin and simvastatin acid is driven by time-dependent inhibition of CYP3A4 with minimal effect on OATP1B1.
Drug Metab Dispos 2018.
Short-course versus long-course therapy of the same antibiotic for community-acquired pneumonia in adolescent and adult outpatients.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018;9():CD009070.
View More

Results provided by: PubMed

CONTINUE WITH LIMITED ACCESS
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2018 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×