A 37-year old African-Canadian male (weight 77 kg, height 180 cm), with a documented history of hypertension and type II diabetes, had been receiving hemodialysis for 4 months prior to this encounter. MSSA was recovered from blood samples withdrawn via CVC (which was inserted 2 months earlier) and peripheral veins. The treatment regimen consisted of cefazolin 2 g i.v. thrice weekly after dialysis plus cefazolin (5 mg/mL)/heparin (5,000 units/mL) antibiotic lock instilled at the end of each dialysis for 2 weeks; the treatment started as inpatient and continued in the outpatient dialysis unit. All repeat cultures were negative and the permanent catheter was not removed for the follow-up period of 3 months.
An 81-year-old quadriplegic African-Canadian female (weight 64 kg, height 152.5 cm), with a known history of hypertension, type II diabetes, and requiring hemodialysis 55 months prior to this encounter, was diagnosed with MSSA bacteremia, with blood samples collected from the CVC (which was inserted 21 months before the incidence of bacteremia) and peripheral veins. A prescription for cefazolin 2 g i.v. after each dialysis and cefazolin (5 mg/mL)/heparin (5,000 units/mL) lock solution for 2 weeks were administered. Treatment was started in the outpatient dialysis unit. All repeat cultures were negative and the catheter was conserved intact. The patient expired 60 days later after admission; she was found unresponsive at a nursing home.