ABSTRACT
The prevalence of resistant enterococci varies geographically. In the present study we looked at the carrier rate of resistant enterococci in the hematology and gastrointestinal surgery units of a tertiary care hospital in Norway. Anal swabs were taken from all 82 hospitalized patients on 4 different dates, at least 4 weeks apart, in 1995. 51% had positive cultures for enterococci. 6% of all patients carried enterococci resistant to ampicillin. 7% carried enterococci with high-level gentamicin resistance. Two strains resistant to vancomycin were found, including the first vanA Enterococcus faecium isolated in a Norwegian hospital. There was a correlation between use of antibiotics and being a carrier of enterococci per se, but the correlation with resistant enterococci did not reach statistical significance owing to the small number of isolates. The carrier rates both for presence of enterococci and for resistant enterococci were generally lower than those found in other studies.