Two doses of dalbavancin (1000 mg given on day 1 followed by 500 mg given on day 8) were as well tolerated and as effective as linezolid given twice daily for 14 days for the treatment of patients with complicated SSSI, including those infected with MRSA.

Patients with stage 2 systolic hypertension require sizable blood pressure (BP) reductions to achieve recommended targets. This randomized double-blind study compared a single-pill combination of the direct renin inhibitor aliskiren and hydrochlorothiazide (aliskiren ⁄ HCTZ) with HCTZ monotherapy in older patients (older than 55 years) with systolic BP !160 mm Hg and <200 mm Hg. After a 1-to 4-week washout, 451 patients were randomized to once-daily aliskiren ⁄ HCTZ 150 ⁄ 12.5 mg or HCTZ 12.5 mg for 1 week, and then double the doses for 7 weeks. Overall baseline BP was 168.8 ⁄ 91.4 mm Hg. At week 4 (primary) end point, aliskiren ⁄ HCTZ provided significantly greater BP reductions from baseline than HCTZ monotherapy (29.6 ⁄ 9.3 mm Hg vs 22.3 ⁄ 6.8 mm Hg) and resulted in a greater proportion of patients achieving BP goal of <140 ⁄ 90 mm Hg (51.1% vs 33.3%). Aliskiren ⁄ HCTZ therapy provides substantial BP reductions and may thus be a useful treatment option for older patients with stage 2 hypertension. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2011;13:162-169. 1 Isolated systolic hypertension (raised SBP but normal diastolic blood pressure [DBP]) is particularly common in older patients because of the natural physiologic changes that occur during the aging process: SBP rises as the vasculature stiffens and is remodelled with age.2 Thus, whereas most people with hypertension who are younger than 50 years have elevated DBP, those who are older than 50 years tend to have increased SBP.3 Current treatment guidelines advise lowering blood pressure (BP) to <140 ⁄ 90 mm Hg (or <130 ⁄ 80 mm Hg for patients with diabetes). [4][5][6] To reach these BP goals, most patients require !2 antihypertensive agents, and therefore available treatment guidelines

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