Since adequate empiric therapy determines outcome, it is imperative that clinicians treating patients at risk for MRSA with antimicrobials certain to eradicate MRSA. Traditional therapy was almost exclusively the glycopeptide vancomycin but emerging evidence suggests that in some cases vancomycin is not as effective as other available drugs. New antimicrobials have emerged which may exhibit superior efficacy against MRSA. In 2004, Marin Kollef et al reported improved clinical cure and survival in patients with MRSA ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) who were treated with linezolid compared to those treated with vancomycin (survival odds ratio 4.6 for linezolid vs vancomycin)16.