Daptomycin (DAP) is a cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic with in vitro, concentration-dependent bactericidal activity against many clinically relevant gram-positive organisms including Staphylococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. High-dose DAP (i.e., > 9 mg/kg) has been associated with improved survival outcomes in patients with invasive enterococci infections. Although generally well tolerated, DAP is associated with myopathy and rhabdomyolysis. Limited data regarding the safety of high-dose DAP in hemodialysis (HD) patients, especially with doses ≥ 12 mg/kg, are available. Here, we describe the safety outcomes in a HD patient who received prolonged, thrice-weekly, high-dose DAP. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report looking at the safety of long-term DAP doses up to 18 mg/kg.
A 65-year-old male with a medical history significant for end-stage renal disease on intermittent HD was diagnosed as having prosthetic valve endocarditis secondary to vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE). He was deemed a poor surgical candidate and the decision was made for conservative management. DAP was continued for approximately 4 months at a dose of 12 mg/kg on 48-hour interdialytic days and 18 mg/kg on the 72-hour interdialytic day. Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) was monitored once or twice weekly. Average CPK during therapy was 92.3 U/L ± 38.9. Overall, DAP was well tolerated and the patient did not experience any signs or symptoms of myopathy or rhabdomyolysis based on daily review of systems.
Although more data are needed to assess the safety of this particular dosing strategy, our case findings suggest that prolonged DAP doses ≥ 12 mg/kg can be safely considered in those receiving intermittent HD, especially when aggressive treatment is needed for invasive VRE infection.
Rocuronium has a longer duration of action than the sedative effects of induction agents used during rapid sequence intubation (RSI), introducing a potential window for inadequate sedation. When rocuronium is used for paralysis in the emergency department, delays in sedation have been observed, but have not been described in intensive care units (ICUs).
The primary objective is the proportion of patients in the ICU who received sedation within 15 minutes after intubation using rocuronium. Secondary objectives include (1) time to sedation (minutes), (2) time to sedation between ICUs (minutes), (3) time to sedation between provider specialties (minutes), (4) time to sedation by Glasgow coma scale (GCS), and (5) first-hour versus second-hour Sedation Intensity Score (SIS) after RSI.
This is a retrospective review at a single academic tertiary care center of patients intubated in an ICU between July 2019 and August 2020. Inclusion criteria were age 18 to 89 years, intubation using rocuronium, and intubation in an ICU. Exclusion criteria were sedative exposure before intubation, no charted induction agent or charting delays from paralytic, incomplete charting, intubation outside an ICU, intubation during cardiac arrest, pregnancy, or incarceration.
A total of 192 intubations using rocuronium were included and 77 (40.1%) received sedation within 15 minutes of induction agent administration. There was no difference in proportion of patients receiving sedation by GCS ≤ 8 and GCS > 8 before intubation (38.1% vs. 41.1%, P = 0.69). Using a SIS to describe amount of sedative administered, more sedation was administered in the second hour after intubation than the first hour (median score 5.5 [interquartile range {IQR} 0-20] vs. 4.5 [IQR 0-12.5], P < 0.001).
In this single-center analysis, a large proportion of patients intubated in ICUs with rocuronium did not receive additional sedation within 15 minutes of induction, exposing them to risk of awareness while paralyzed.

