Antibiotics Deconstructed

16 years after the FDA determined that it does not, a new analysis of trials comparing cefepime with other ß-lactams, including the unpublished industry sponsored trials reviewed by the FDA, disagrees.

Daptomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium bacteremia is an emerging, high-mortality challenge in transplant and other high-risk patients, requiring early recognition, aggressive source control, and reliance on limited alternatives—most notably linezolid—with combination or salvage therapies considered when options are constrained.

Here is a brief clinical overview of the single-agent intravenous carbapenems available in the United States (ertapenem, meropenem, and imipenem-cilastatin) and the recently approved oral carbapenem tebipenem pivoxil.

In May 2026, the FDA approved a combination product of cefepime and zidebactam for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, including pyelonephritis, providing a new treatment option for multidrug-resistant gram-negative organisms. Here is a clinical overview of the newly approved antibiotic.

Fluoroquinolones are broadly active and convenient, but black box warnings and resistance concerns have reshaped when and how clinicians should use them.

In 2018, the FDA approved omadacycline as a new oral/intravenous third generation tetracycline to treat Community Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP) and Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI). Here is a clinical overview of omadacycline as well as recent phase 2 clinical trial results favoring oral omadacycline as an oral treatment option for Mycobacterium abscessus pulmonary disease.

In 2025, the Infectious Diseases Society of America published the first part of an update to the clinical practice guideline on the diagnosis and management of GAS pharyngitis. Here is an overview of the risk assessment and antibiotic treatment of GAS pharyngitis.

The FDA recently approved intravenous fosfomycin (Contepo), which is a new option for adults with complicated urinary tract infections, including those caused by resistant Gram-negative pathogens. Here is an overview of the therapeutic including its mechanism of action, data, availability, and prospective costs.

This past December, the FDA approved both zoliflodacin and gepotidacin for this sexually transmitted infection marking a significant advance amid rising antibiotic resistance. Here is an overview of the antibiotics.