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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
A major international trial finds cefazolin holds its own against traditional antistaphylococcal penicillins for treating MSSA bloodstream infections — and comes with a meaningful safety advantage: significantly less kidney damage. The SNAP trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, enrolled over 1,300 patients across 8 countries and found similar 90-day survival rates with fewer serious side effects. Experts say cefazolin may soon become the preferred first-line treatment in updated clinical guidelines.
Cefazolin is just as effective as penicillins for staph bloodstream infections — and easier on the kidneys
A landmark international trial has delivered strong evidence that cefazolin, a first-generation cephalosporin, is just as effective as antistaphylococcal penicillins (ASPs) like cloxacillin and flucloxacillin for treating methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia — one of the deadliest bacterial infections worldwide, killing more than 1 in 4 patients within 90 days. The SNAP trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, enrolled 1,341 adults across 91 centers in 8 countries.
Cefazolin not only matched ASPs on survival but also came out ahead on safety. Patients on cefazolin had significantly fewer serious adverse reactions and were far less likely to switch antibiotics due to side effects. The trial also addressed a long-standing theoretical concern — the "cefazolin inoculum effect" — finding no evidence that it meaningfully impacted clinical outcomes, even in the endocarditis subgroup, though a dedicated microbiological analysis is still pending.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: These findings give clinicians robust, randomized evidence to consider cefazolin over ASPs in MSSA bacteremia — offering comparable efficacy with a simpler dosing schedule and a notably better safety profile. Guideline updates are likely on the horizon.
