Failure of oral antimicrobial agents in eradicating gastrointestinal colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci.

Eradication of gastrointestinal colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) using a combination of oral bacitracin and gentamicin was evaluated. Twenty-eight evaluable treated patients were matched with 28 control patients. After 3 months of follow-up, 5 patients (18%) in the treatment group versus 1 patient (4%) in the control group (P = .2) had negative results on stool cultures, with a similar frequency of VRE bacteremia (P = .8). The use of oral bacitracin plus gentamicin did not reduce VRE colonization or bacteremia.