Antibiotic susceptibilities of enterococci isolated from Turkish children.

ABSTRACT

To evaluate the antibiotic resistance rates of enterococci isolated at Hacettepe Children's Hospital, in vitro antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed in 77 enterococci (32 hospital, 45 nonhospital strains) isolated from various clinical specimens in 1994. Microbroth dilution tests against ampicillin, vancomycin, gentamicin and streptomycin were performed according to the NCCLS standards. High-level resistance to aminoglycosides was investigated. Ampicillin resistance rates were 21.9 percent and 2.2 percent for hospital and nonhospital strains, respectively (p < 0.01). The same rates were 46.9 and 13.3 percent for gentamicin (p < 0.01), and 15.6 and 13.3 percent for streptomycin (p = 0.25). No resistance was detected against vancomycin. Six strains (7.8%) showed high-level resistance to both aminoglycosides studied. Special attention should be paid to enterococci isolated from hospitalized patients. Appropriate antibiotic use in serious infections can only be achieved by choosing an appropriate regimen according to antibiotic susceptibility tests. Periodic evaluation of the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of enterococci is necessary for the empirical treatment of infections due to these microorganisms.