[Drug-resistant bacteria isolated from pharyngeal swab cultures and urine in acutely or chronically febrile elderly nursing home inmates].

AIM: Patients in nursing homes are becoming more and more elderly and also prone to infectious diseases. It is important to select proper antimicrobial agents in treating such patients because of the increase in drug-resistant bacteria in recent years. METHODS: Pathogenic aerobic bacteria were isolated from cultures of the pharyngeal swab obtained from patients with acute febrile episodes and those with chronic febrile conditions with a repetition of fever or continuing low-grade fever. Isolation of pathogens was also carried out in patients with a urinary tract infection that was resistant to treatment. Isolated bacteria were tested for sensitivity to commonly used antimicrobial agents. RESULTS: Pathogenic bacteria were isolated from 33% of the patients with acute febrile episodes, while they were isolated from 75% of the patients with chronic febrile conditions. The number of major pathogenic bacteria from 85 isolates were methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 13, methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) 6, Streptococcus pneumoniae 8, beta-hemolytic streptococcus 5, Klebsiella pneumoniae 10, and Enterobacter cloacae 6. Only two isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae were penicillin-sensitive (PSSP), while the others were penicillin-resistant (PRSP) (1) or penicillin-insensitive (PISP) (5). Among these 8 isolates, 5 were resistant to levofloxacin (LVFX). Escherichia coli was isolated from the pharyngeal swab of 2 patients, one of the 2 isolates being resistant to LVFX. Escherichia coli was isolated from 5 patients with urinary tract infection and 5 of the 6 isolates were resistant to LVFX; with one of them being extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL). CONCLUSION: The frequency of isolation of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens was extremely high among elderly patients in our nursing home compared to values reported from a nation-wide survey recently carried out in Japan. In particular, attention should be focused on the resistance of bacteria to fluoroquinolones.

[Treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections in elderly inmates at a nursing home by selective antimicrobial agents based on the sensitivity of the isolated bacteria].

OBJECTIVES: Elderly patients living in nursing homes can easily find themselves unable to carry out their daily activities, once they become ill, even with infectious diseases of a slight to mild degree, and rapid treatment is required to cure them of their malaise. However, treatment is often difficult due to the presence of drug-resistant bacteria. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of the selective use of antimicrobial agents based on a sensitivity test of isolated bacteria. METHODS: Possible pathogenic bacteria were isolated from cultures of pharyngeal swabs or urine obtained from patients with chronic febrile conditions or urinary tract infections, resistant to antimicrobial treatment. The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated based on release from febrile conditions and improvement of activities of daily living (ADL) accompanied by the disappearance of possible pathogenic bacteria following the use of selective antimicrobial agents. RESULTS: The outcome of 14 cases with sustaining febrile conditions and 3 cases with urinary tract infections was reviewed. Most of them showed a good response to treatment with remarkable improvement in ADL. In some cases, patients were switched from one antimicrobial agent to another each time new pathogenic bacteria were detected in the culture. A combination of rifampicin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (RFP/ST) was found to be the most convenient and effective treatment in patients with MRSA or drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Levofloxacin (LVFX)-resistant Escherichia coli were detected together with MRSA in our 3 patients with urinary tract infections, corresponding to the frequent use of LVFX in our community. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of possible pathogenic bacteria and the use of proper antibiotic agents based on a sensitivity test are very effective in the treatment of elderly patients with chronic febrile conditions arising from the presence of drug-resistant bacteria. Careful use of fluoroquinolones is required in patients in whom MRSA is or had once been detected. This is beneficial not only for the elderly patients themselves but is also useful in preventing the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.