Evaluation of the efficacy of minocycline therapy for staphylococcal soft-tissue infection

Ten patients with soft-tissue infections due to Staphylococcus aureus were treated with minocycline, a semisynthetic tetracycline with potent in vitro antistaphylococcal effects. Serum concentrations averaged three to five times the concentration of minocycline required to inhibit growth of S. aureus in vitro. Clearing of the infecting organism was slow (less than 50% of lesions were sterile on day 10 of therapy), but clinical improvement was noted in 8 of 10 patients.