Daily Medication Pearl: Daptomycin for Injection (Cubicin)

Medication Pearl of the Day: Daptomycin for Injection (Cubicin)

Indication: Cubicin is a lipopeptide antibacterial indicated for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) in adult and pediatric patients aged 1 to 17 years of age and for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, or bacteremia, in adult patients—including those with right-sided infective endocarditis—and in pediatric patients aged 1 to 17 years.

Explanations

• Dosing:For injection, use 500 mg lyophilized powder for reconstitution in a singledose vial.
• Dosage forms: 4 mg/kg to 6mg/kg based on the infection indicated.
• Adverse events: The most common adverse reactions include diarrhea, headache, dizziness, rash, abnormal liver function tests, elevated creatine phosphokinase (CPK), urinary tract infections, hypotension, and dyspnea.
• Mechanism of action: Daptomycin binds to bacterial cell membranes and causes a rapid depolarization of membrane potential. This loss of membrane potential causes inhibition of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis, which results in bacterial cell death.

Reference

Highlights of Prescribing Information. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp; 2022. Accessed August 5, 2022. cubicin_pi.pdf (merck.com)