Oritavancin and dalbavancin are long-acting lipoglycopeptide antibiotics approved for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) [1,2]. These agents are optimal for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) given their pharmacokinetic profiles that allow for single-dose or multi-dose extended interval regimens [3]. Additionally, oritavancin and dalbavancin have similar spectrums of activity, monitoring, and costs [4]. Although not approved, multi-dose lipoglycopeptides have recently gained traction for use in OPAT for treatment of complicated infections such as osteomyelitis, bloodstream infections (BSI), prosthetic joint infections (PJI), and infective endocarditis (IE).

Currently, the majority of published literature involving lipoglyopeptide treatment for complicated infections includes single arm studies or case reports [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]. Studies comparing individual lipoglycopeptides to standard of care (SoC) for osteomyelitis and BSI have demonstrated similar rates of clinical success without an increased incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]. Considering the evidence as a whole, lipoglycopeptides may be a reasonable alternative to SoC for treatment of other complicated infections. However, there are no head-to-head comparative evaluations of oritavancin and dalbavancin to date. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcomes of patients treated with multiple doses of either oritavancin or dalbavancin for complicated infections in a hospital-owned infusion centre.