• Sanjay Merchant, Chris Gast, Dilip Nathwani, Michael Lee, Alvaro Quintana, Nzeera Ketter, Ian Friedland, and Michael Ingham.
• Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Services, LLC, Raritan, New Jersey 08869-0602, USA. smercha5@psmus.jnj.com
• Clin Ther. 2008 Apr 1;30(4):717-33.

BackgroundVentilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common nosocomial infection that is associated with prolonged length of stay (LOS) and significant mortality.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare resource utilization with doripenem, an investigational carbapenem, versus imipenem from a hospital perspective among patients with VAP.MethodsThis analysis was based on data from a Phase III, randomized, open-label, noninferiority study that compared clinical cure of VAP with doripenem 500 mg q8h i.v. (4-hour infusion) with imipenem 500 mg q6h (30-minute infusion) or 1000 mg q8h i.v. (1-hour infusion). Total hospital LOS, intensive care unit (ICU) LOS, and time on mechanical ventilation for doripenem and imipenem were compared in a clinical modified intent-to-treat population. P values were determined using the generalized Wilcoxon test, which compared treatments in a time-to-event analysis, censoring patients at the late follow-up visit (28-35 days after the end of i.v. therapy).ResultsPatients in the doripenem and imipenem groups had similar baseline clinical characteristics. Median hospital LOS was significantly shorter with doripenem versus imipenem (22 vs 27 days; P=0.010); median time on mechanical ventilation was significantly shorter for doripenem (7 vs 10 days; P=0.034); median ICU LOSs were similar between the 2 groups (12 vs 13 days). Clinical cure and mortality rates were similar.ConclusionsOf the 3 primary end points in this analysis, hospital LOS and time on mechanical ventilation were significantly shorter with doripenem compared with imipenem; no statistical significance was observed in ICU LOS. These findings suggest that doripenem use may be associated with an economic and clinical benefit to patients and hospitals.

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