In a recent article, “DOTS: Optimism Around a ‘Negative’ Dalbavancin Trial,” Dr. Paul Sax summarizes the results of the DOTS study and why the findings are important.

Researchers for the DOTS study wanted to learn if two doses of dalbavancin, a long-lasting antibiotic often used to treat severe, bacterial skin infections, could work better than the standard peripherally inserted central catheter (or PICC line) antibiotic treatment for patients hospitalized for complicated Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections. The study results showed that although dalbavancin was not better at treating bloodstream infections, it worked as well as the standard therapy with fewer patients having to stop or change treatment due to side effects.

“So yes, DOTS was ‘negative’ on its primary outcome,” said Dr. Sax. “But it also showed that dalbavancin performs about as well as what we do now, with far less infrastructure: no PICC, no daily infusions, no vancomycin levels, fewer moving parts.”

Learn more about these important findings to improve patient outcomes for antibiotic-resistant infections in the ARLG news and the DOTS Summary of Results.