Clinical Infectious Diseases Advance Access published May 8, 2015
1 Invited Review Articles: Do They Inform or Do They Advertise? Jay V. Solnick*
Correspondence: Tel: (530) 752-1333, Email: [email protected]
an M pt ed ce Ac © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
Downloaded from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/ at North Dakota State University on May 16, 2015
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*
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Jay V. Solnick, MD, PhD, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA 95616, USA
2
Dear Editor: Antibiotic treatment for serious MRSA infections is inadequate. Most probably still
cr ipt
consider Vancomycin the gold standard—and no alternative has proven itself superior in clinical trials—but there are drawbacks nonetheless and newer agents are available. In a recent issue of CID, an invited article suggested that alternative therapies have been
shown to be more effective than Vancomycin for MRSA bacteremia [1], a claim that was
us
of us was the obvious conflict of interest inherent in the fact that the authors of that
an
paper, and some of the literature cited to support it, were in many cases employed by or receiving compensation from Cubist Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Daptomycin. In a more recent issue of CID, another invited article appeared, which discussed the potential
M
role of Telavancin for treatment of S. aureus [3]. Telavancin is made by Theravance, Inc, which funded the article, provided financial support to all of the authors as scientific
pt ed
advisors or consultants, and employs one of them. While I realize that these potential conflicts of interest were disclosed and are there for all to see and judge, would it not be better for CID to invite reviews from authors who are not so obviously in conflict, and who would be more likely to write a balanced article that seeks to inform rather than to advertise? Would not the readers of CID, the patients we care for, and in the end, CID
ce
itself, not be better off if we were to do so? Some might argue that those most
Ac
competent to write such reviews are inevitably in conflict. I think this is simply not true.
Downloaded from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/ at North Dakota State University on May 16, 2015
disputed in a subsequent correspondence [2]. One of the concerns expressed by both
3 References 1.
Kullar R, McKinnell JA, Sakoulas G. Avoiding the perfect storm: the biologic and
cr ipt
clinical case for reevaluating the 7-day expectation for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia before switching therapy. Clin Infect Dis 2014; 59(10): 1455-61. 2.
Eschenauer GA, Nagel JL, Kubin CJ, Lam SW, Patel TS, Potoski BA. Calming
call for a more balanced discussion. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 60(4): 670-1. 3.
Corey GR, Rubinstein E, Stryjewski ME, Bassetti M, Barriere SL. Potential Role
an
for Telavancin in Bacteremic Infections Due to Gram-Positive Pathogens: Focus
Ac
ce
pt ed
M
on Staphylococcus aureus. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 60(5): 787-96.
Downloaded from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/ at North Dakota State University on May 16, 2015
us
the "perfect storm" in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: a
1 Invited Review Articles: Do They Inform or Do They Advertise? Jay V. Solnick*
Correspondence: Tel: (530) 752-1333, Email: [email protected]
an M pt ed ce Ac © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
Downloaded from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/ at North Dakota State University on May 16, 2015
us
*
cr ipt
Jay V. Solnick, MD, PhD, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA 95616, USA
2
Dear Editor: Antibiotic treatment for serious MRSA infections is inadequate. Most probably still
cr ipt
consider Vancomycin the gold standard—and no alternative has proven itself superior in clinical trials—but there are drawbacks nonetheless and newer agents are available. In a recent issue of CID, an invited article suggested that alternative therapies have been
shown to be more effective than Vancomycin for MRSA bacteremia [1], a claim that was
us
of us was the obvious conflict of interest inherent in the fact that the authors of that
an
paper, and some of the literature cited to support it, were in many cases employed by or receiving compensation from Cubist Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Daptomycin. In a more recent issue of CID, another invited article appeared, which discussed the potential
M
role of Telavancin for treatment of S. aureus [3]. Telavancin is made by Theravance, Inc, which funded the article, provided financial support to all of the authors as scientific
pt ed
advisors or consultants, and employs one of them. While I realize that these potential conflicts of interest were disclosed and are there for all to see and judge, would it not be better for CID to invite reviews from authors who are not so obviously in conflict, and who would be more likely to write a balanced article that seeks to inform rather than to advertise? Would not the readers of CID, the patients we care for, and in the end, CID
ce
itself, not be better off if we were to do so? Some might argue that those most
Ac
competent to write such reviews are inevitably in conflict. I think this is simply not true.
Downloaded from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/ at North Dakota State University on May 16, 2015
disputed in a subsequent correspondence [2]. One of the concerns expressed by both
3 References 1.
Kullar R, McKinnell JA, Sakoulas G. Avoiding the perfect storm: the biologic and
cr ipt
clinical case for reevaluating the 7-day expectation for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia before switching therapy. Clin Infect Dis 2014; 59(10): 1455-61. 2.
Eschenauer GA, Nagel JL, Kubin CJ, Lam SW, Patel TS, Potoski BA. Calming
call for a more balanced discussion. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 60(4): 670-1. 3.
Corey GR, Rubinstein E, Stryjewski ME, Bassetti M, Barriere SL. Potential Role
an
for Telavancin in Bacteremic Infections Due to Gram-Positive Pathogens: Focus
Ac
ce
pt ed
M
on Staphylococcus aureus. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 60(5): 787-96.
Downloaded from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/ at North Dakota State University on May 16, 2015
us
the "perfect storm" in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: a
