Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37158826›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2023

Effectiveness of oral cephalexin in antibiotic-course completion for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus-induced bacteremic vertebral osteomyelitis.

Nobumasa Okumura, Kayoko Hayakawa, Kei Yamamoto, Gen Yamada, Kazuhisa Mezaki, Norio Ohmagari

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Staphylococcus aureus vertebral osteomyelitis: a single-centre retrospective cohort study with focus on oral flucloxacillin follow-up.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Nobumasa OkumuraDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. nokumura@hosp.ncgm.go.jp.
Kayoko HayakawaDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Kei YamamotoDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Gen YamadaDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Kazuhisa MezakiMicrobiology Laboratory, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Norio OhmagariDisease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, 1-21-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
National Center for Global Health and Medicine · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMethicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) is the most common causative microorganism of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis (PVO). Although oral antimicrobial therapy with first-generation cephalosporins can treat MSSA infection, data on PVO are scarce. This study evaluated the treatment efficacy of cephalexin as oral antibiotic therapy for MSSA-induced PVO.

methodsThis retrospective study included adult patients treated with oral cephalexin as the completing treatment for PVO with MSSA bacteremia from 2012 to 2020. Treatment effectiveness of cephalexin was evaluated by comparing improvement (5-point scale; score ≥ 4/5 indicates treatment success) in symptoms and laboratory and imaging results between intravenous antimicrobial and oral cephalexin treatment.

resultsAmong 15 participants (8 [53%] women; median [interquartile range, IQR], age 75 [67.5-80.5] years; Charlson Comorbidity Index 2 [0-4]), 10 (67%) had lumbar spine lesions, 12 (80%) had spinal abscesses, and 4 (27%) had remote abscesses; no patients had concomitant endocarditis. In 11 patients with normal renal function, cephalexin 1,500-2,000 mg/day was administered. Five patients (33%) underwent surgery. Median (IQR; range) duration (days) of intravenous antibiotics, cephalexin, and total treatment was 36 (32-61; 21-86), 29 (19-82; 8-251), and 86 (59-125; 37-337), respectively. Cephalexin had an 87% treatment success rate without recurrence during a median follow-up of 119 (IQR, 48.5-350) days.

conclusionsIn patients with MSSA bacteremia and PVO, antibiotic treatment completion with cephalexin is a reasonable option, even in cases with spinal abscess, if at least 3 weeks of effective intravenous antimicrobial therapy is provided.

Indexed as

BacteremiaOsteomyelitisAbscessAdultAgedAnti-Bacterial AgentsCephalexinFemaleHumansMaleMethicillinRetrospective StudiesStaphylococcus aureusAnti-Bacterial AgentsCephalexinMethicillinCephalexinOral therapyVertebral osteomyelitis

Identifiers

PMID37158826
PMCPMC10165786
OpenAlexW4375861936

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.