Geographic variation in the frequency of isolation and fluconazole and voriconazole susceptibilities of Candida glabrata: an assessment from the ARTEMIS DISK Global Antifungal Surveillance Program.

Geographic differences in frequency and azole resistance among Candida glabrata may impact empiric antifungal therapy choice. We examined geographic variation in isolation and azole susceptibility of C. glabrata. We examined 23 305 clinical isolates of C. glabrata during ARTEMIS DISK global surveillance. Susceptibility testing to fluconazole and voriconazole was assessed by disk diffusion, and the results were grouped by geographic location: North America (NA) (2470 isolates), Latin America (LA) (2039), Europe (EU) (12 439), Africa and the Middle East (AME) (728), and Asia-Pacific (AP) (5629). Overall, C. glabrata accounted for 11.6% of 201 653 isolates of Candida and varied as a proportion of all Candida isolated from 7.4% in LA to 21.1% in NA. Decreased susceptibility (S) to fluconazole was observed in all geographic regions and ranged from 62.8% in AME to 76.7% in LA. Variation in fluconazole susceptibility was observed within each region: AP (range, 50-100% S), AME (48-86.9%), EU (44.8-88%), LA (43-92%), and NA (74.5-91.6%). Voriconazole was more active than fluconazole (range, 82.3-84.2% S) with similar regional variation. Among 22 sentinel sites participating in ARTEMIS from 2001 through 2007 (84 140 total isolates, 8163 C. glabrata), the frequency of C. glabrata isolation increased in 14 sites and the frequency of fluconazole resistance (R) increased in 11 sites over the 7-year period of study. The sites with the highest cumulative rates of fluconazole R were in Poland (22% R), the Czech Republic (27% R), Venezuela (27% R), and Greece (33% R). C. glabrata was most often isolated from blood, normally sterile body fluids and urine. There is substantial geographic and institutional variation in both frequency of isolation and azole resistance among C. glabrata. Prompt species identification and fluconazole susceptibility testing are necessary to optimize therapy for invasive candidiasis.

Bacteremias caused by Escherichia coli in cancer patients - analysis of 65 episodes.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to evaluate risk factors, clinical presentation, outcome and antimicrobial susceptibility in patients with Escherichia coli bacteremia occurring over seven years in a single cancer hospital. METHODS: Sixty five episodes of bacteremia from E. coli appearing over seven years from 12,301 admissions in a single cancer institution were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The proportion of bacteremia caused by E. coli among Gram-negative bacteremia was 20.8% (the second most common organism after Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and infection-associated mortality was 17%. The incidence in 1989-1995 varied from 14.3 to 24.7%. The most common risk factors were: solid tumors as the underlying disease (70.7%); central venous catheter insertion (32.3%); prior surgery (46.2%), and prior chemotherapy within 48 h (44.4%). Neutropenia and urinary catheters did not place patients at high risk in any of the subgroups. When we compared the two subgroups of 61 cases of bacteremia - monomicrobial and polymicrobial (when E. coli was isolated from blood culture with another microorganism) - we found that acute leukemia and breakthrough (recurrence while receiving antibiotics) bacteremia were more frequently associated with polymicrobial E. coli bacteremia. There was also a difference in infection-associated mortality: monomicrobial bacteremia due to E. coli only had a significantly lower mortality in comparison with polymicrobial E. coli bacteremia (8.9 vs 35.0%, respectively; P<0.03). CONCLUSION: The susceptibility of 115 E. coli strains isolated from 65 episodes of bacteremia was stable. Only two episodes caused by quinolone-resistant strains occurred, both in 1995, after six years of using ofloxacin for prophylaxis in neutropenic patients in our hospital. We found that 85.2-91.3% of all strains were susceptible to aminoglycosides, 97.8% to quinolones, and 90-100% to third generation cephalosporins and imipenems. The patients most commonly infected had solid tumors and the mortality was only 17%.

Susceptibilities to telithromycin and six other agents and prevalence of macrolide resistance due to L4 ribosomal protein mutation among 992 Pneumococci from 10 central and Eastern European countries.

The macrolide and levofloxacin susceptibilities of 992 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from clinical specimens collected in 1999 and 2000 were determined in 10 centers in Central and Eastern European countries. The prevalences of penicillin G-intermediate (MICs, 0.125 to 1 microg/ml) and penicillin-resistant (MICs, < or =2 microg/ml) Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates were 14.3 and 16.6%, respectively. The MICs at which 50% of isolates are inhibited (MIC(50)s) and the MIC(90)s of telithromycin were 0.016 and 0.06 microg/ml, respectively; those of erythromycin were 0.06 and >64 microg/ml, respectively; those of azithromycin were 0.125 and >64 microg/ml, respectively; those of clarithromycin were 0.03 and >64 microg/ml, respectively; and those of clindamycin were 0.06 and >64 microg/ml, respectively. Erythromycin resistance was found in 180 S. pneumoniae isolates (18.1%); the highest prevalence of erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae was observed in Hungary (35.5%). Among erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae isolates, strains harboring erm(B) genes (125 strains [69.4%]) were found to be predominant over strains with mef(E) genes (25 strains [13.4%]), L4 protein mutations (28 strains [15.6%]), and erm(A) genes (2 strains [1.1%]). Similar pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns suggested that some strains containing L4 mutations from the Slovak Republic, Bulgaria, and Latvia were clonally related. Of nine strains highly resistant to levofloxacin (MICs, >8 microg/ml) six were isolated from Zagreb, Croatia. Telithromycin at < or =0.5 microg/ml was active against 99.8% of S. pneumoniae isolates tested and may be useful for the treatment of respiratory tract infections caused by macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae isolates.

Susceptibility to telithromycin in 1,011 Streptococcus pyogenes isolates from 10 central and Eastern European countries.

Among 1,011 recently isolated Streptococcus pyogenes isolates from 10 Central and Eastern European centers, the MICs at which 50% of isolates are inhibited (MIC(50)s) and the MIC(90)s were as follows: for telithromycin, 0.03 and 0.06 microg/ml, respectively; for erythromycin, azithromycin, and clarithromycin, 0.06 to 0.125 and 1 to 8 microg/ml, respectively; and for clindamycin, 0.125 and 0.125 microg/ml, respectively. Erythromycin resistance occurred in 12.3% of strains. Erm(A) [subclass erm(TR)] was most commonly encountered (60.5%), followed by mef(A) (23.4%) and erm(B) (14.5%). At <0.5 microg/ml, telithromycin was active against 98.5% of the strains tested.

Incidence, Clinical Features, Risk Factors and Outcome of Bacteremia due to Vancomycin-Resistant and Vancomycin-Sensitive Enterococcus Species Analyzed Over a 7-year Period in a Single Cancer Institution.

The aim of this study was to retrospectively compare the incidence, risk factors, and outcome in patients seen over a 7-year period at the National Cancer Institute in the Slovak Republic, with vancomycin-sensitive or vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia. The total incidence of enterococcal bacteremia at the National Cancer Institute increased from 5.1% in 1991 to 11.1% in 1993 and then decreased to 4.3% in 1995. Analysis of the 77 episodes of enterococcal bacteremia from 66 patients showed that 69 episodes from 60 patients were due to vancomycin-sensitive Enterococcus faecalis (group 1) and 8 episodes from 8 patients were due to vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (group 2). The features most frequently associated with enterococcal bacteremia were the insertion of a central venous catheter, neutropenia lasting more than 10 days, previous therapy with cephalosporins or vancomycin, previous prophylaxis with quinolones, and the incidence of superinfections. There was no difference in the clinical course or outcome between the 2 study groups. Previous therapy with aminoglycosides, cephalosporins, vancomycin or imipenem, neutropenia less than 10 days in length, malignancies other than leukemia or solid tumors, and the incidence of breakthrough bacteremia significantly correlated with patients with vancomycin-resistant E. faecium rather than patients with vancomycin-sensitive E. faecalis. The overall mortality was similar in both groups and averaged 32.5% for all enterococcal bacteremic patients. In this study, the major risk factors associated with cancer patients for developing vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia were previous therapy with aminoglycosides, cephalosporins or vancomycin, superinfections with other organisms and the incidence of breakthrough bacteremia.