甲氧西林耐药的金黄色葡萄球菌耐药性及分子流行病学调查

目的了解甲氧西林耐药的金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)的耐药性及分子流行病学特点。方法采用纸片扩散法及琼脂稀释法检测2002年从北京协和医院住院患者分离的165株MRSA的耐药性；采用脉冲场凝胶电泳(PFGE)技术对其中重症监护病房(ICU)和呼吸重症监护病房(RCU)分离的65株MRSA作同源性分析。结果165株MRSA对万古霉素和替考拉宁的敏感率为100％，对庆大霉素的耐药率为100％；对左氧氟沙星、四环素、红霉素耐药率分别为98．2％、96．3％、93．9％。对甲氧苄啶，磺胺甲噁唑和氯霉素敏感率分别为95．8％及98．8％；ICU和RCU病房分离MRSA的PFGE图谱有5种类型(A—E型)，以A型为主(56株)，A型又包括A1亚型(55株)和A2亚型(1株)。结论医院获得性MRSA是多重耐药菌，在ICU和RCU病房发生了基因型为A1亚型的MRSA菌株暴发流行。     

High percentage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides in The Netherlands

While testing the in vitro activities of 14 antimicrobial agents against 107 methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and 250 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates collected in The Netherlands, we found to our surprise that 19 (7.6%) MRSA isolates were suspected of having reduced susceptibilities to the glycopeptides when the Etest system (AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden) was used with a large inoculum (no. 2 McFarland standard) and an extended incubation time (48 h) on brain heart infusion agar for MIC testing. Eventually, 15 of these isolates were classified as heterogeneously resistant to glycopeptides (heterogeneously glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus [hGISA] isolates) according to the population analysis profile-area under the curve analysis. The MICs at which 50 and 90% of isolates are inhibited obtained with the Etest system with the large inoculum were as follows: for MSSA isolates, 3.0 and 4.0 micro g/ml, respectively, for both teicoplanin and vancomycin; for MRSA isolates, 3.0 and 8.0 micro g/ml, respectively, for teicoplanin, and 3.0 and 4.0 micro g/ml, respectively, for vancomycin. This is the first report of hGISA isolates in The Netherlands.     

Quality control limits for teicoplanin susceptibility tests and confirmation of disk diffusion interpretive criteria.

For monitoring the performance of teicoplanin susceptibility tests, the following quality control limits are recommended: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, MIC of 0.12 to 0.5 micrograms/ml; Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, MIC of 0.06 to 0.25 micrograms/ml; and S. aureus ATCC 25923, zones 15 to 19 mm in diameter (30-micrograms disks). However, some lots of Mueller-Hinton agar provided unusually large zones of inhibition with both vancomycin and teicoplanin disks, and these lots should be excluded before routine use. Teicoplanin and vancomycin differed only in their activity against oxacillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus haemolyticus, which had decreased susceptibility to teicoplanin but were fully susceptible to vancomycin. For tests with 30-micrograms teicoplanin disks, zones less than or equal to 10 and greater than or equal to 14 mm in diameter represent resistant and susceptible breakpoints, respectively.     

Nationwide surveillance for Staphylococcus aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in Korea

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) accounts for more than 70% of S. aureus isolates from tertiary hospitals in Korea. Clinical isolates of S. aureus were collected from eight provincial, university-affiliated hospitals during the period from June 1999 to January 2001 for nationwide surveillance. All isolates were screened for reduced susceptibility to vancomycin by using brain heart infusion agar containing 4 micro g of vancomycin per milliliter. Population analysis and the determination of the MIC of vancomycin were done for the isolates which grew on the screening agar plates. Of 682 total isolates, MRSA accounted for 64% (439 of 682). Of 27 (4%) isolates that grew on the screening agar plates, none showed the heteroresistance phenotype. No strains with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin were identified.     

Investigation of reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from patients in Ireland and evaluation of agar screening methods for detection of heterogeneously glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates (n = 3,189) from 2,990 patients were investigated by agar screening and by the Etest macromethod for reduced susceptibility to glycopeptide. No vancomycin-resistant S. aureus or glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus (GISA) isolates were detected, but 178 isolates were confirmed as hetero-GISA (hGISA) by vancomycin population analysis profile (vPAP)-area under the curve (AUC) ratio determination and/or teicoplanin PAP (tPAP) methods. Of 139 isolates detected using the recommended Etest macromethod cutoff values of > or =8 mg/liter for both vancomycin and teicoplanin or > or =12 mg/liter for teicoplanin alone, 73 were confirmed as hGISA by vPAP-AUC, 95 were confirmed as hGISA by tPAP, and 108 were confirmed as hGISA by both methods. An Etest macromethod cutoff value of 8 mg/liter for teicoplanin alone detected a further 70 hGISA (17 were confirmed by vPAP-AUC and 70 were confirmed by tPAP). Agar screening utilizing brain heart infusion (BHI) agar containing 6 mg of vancomycin/liter (BHIV6) and Mueller-Hinton (MH) agar containing 8 mg of teicoplanin/liter (MHT8) failed to detect hGISA. MH agar containing 5 mg of teicoplanin/liter (MHT5) and BHI containing 5 mg of teicoplanin/liter (BHIT5) were evaluated using 10-microl volumes of three inoculum concentrations (with densities equivalent to 0.5 and 2.0 McFarland turbidity standards and stationary-phase BHI broth subcultures [MHT5(0.5), MHT5(2.0), MHT5(S), BHIT5(0.5), BHIT5(2.0), and BHIT5(S)]). The sensitivity of all methods except MHT5(0.5) and MHT5(2.0) was 100%. The specificity ranged from 4 to 82%. BHIT5(0.5) yielded the best performance, with a specificity of 84% for detecting isolates with teicoplanin Etest macromethod values of > or =8 mg/liter. Screening on BHIT5(0.5) is useful where screen-positive isolates are investigated with the Etest macromethod and confirmed by vPAP-AUC and tPAP. The prevalence of hGISA among patients with blood culture isolates recovered in Irish hospitals between 1999 and 2003 was 2.6%, whereas the prevalence among patients with isolates from all specimen sites collected during a 2-week survey in 1999 was 12%. The prevalence in one hospital decreased from 5.3% in 2003 to 1.5% in 2004.     

European survey of glycopeptide susceptibility in Staphylococcus spp.

Objectives: To reassess the relative potencies of teicoplanin and vancomycin following several years of clinical usage.
Methods: The glycopeptide susceptibilities of clinical isolates of staphylococci collected from 70 hospitals in 1995 were determined using NCCLS (National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards) methods.
Results: In total, 2885 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and 1480 isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci were collected. S. aureus was significantly less susceptible to vancomycin (MIC₅₀ 1 mg/L) than teicoplanin (MIC₅₀ 0.5 mg/L), but the reverse was the case for S. haemolyticus and S. epidermidis . No S. aureus isolate was resistant (≥32 mg/L) to either glycopeptide, but nine isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci had an MIC of teicoplanin of 32 mg/L. Respiratory isolates of S. aureus were less susceptible to glycopeptides than those from other sites. Staphylococci from Belgium and Italy were less susceptible to teicoplanin than isolates from other countries.
Conclusions: This European survey shows that in 10 years of clinical use there have been no major changes in the susceptibility of staphylococci to the glycopeptides.     

Comparison of detection methods for heteroresistant vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus, with the population analysis profile method as the reference method

Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates with vancomycin MICs of 2 μg/ml have been associated with vancomycin therapeutic failure and the heteroresistant vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (hVISA) phenotype. A population analysis profile (PAP) with an area under the curve (AUC) ratio of ≥ 0.9 for the AUC of the clinical isolate versus the AUC for hVISA strain Mu3 is most often used for determining hVISA, but it is time-consuming and labor-intensive. A collection of 140 MRSA blood isolates with vancomycin MICs of 2 μg/ml by reference broth microdilution and screened for hVISA using PAP-AUC (21/140 [15%] hVISA) were tested by additional methods to detect hVISA. The methods included (i) Etest macromethod using vancomycin and teicoplanin test strips, brain heart infusion (BHI) agar, and a 2.0 McFarland inoculum; (ii) Etest glycopeptide resistance detection (GRD) using vancomycin-teicoplanin double-sided gradient test strips on Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA) with 5% sheep blood and a 0.5 McFarland inoculum; and (iii) BHI screen agar plates containing 4 μg/ml vancomycin and 16 g/liter casein using 0.5 and 2.0 McFarland inocula. Each method was evaluated using PAP-AUC as the reference method. The sensitivity of each method for detecting hVISA was higher when the results were read at 48 h. The Etest macromethod was 57% sensitive and 96% specific, Etest GRD was 57% sensitive and 97% specific, and BHI screen agar was 90% sensitive and 95% specific with a 0.5 McFarland inoculum and 100% sensitive and 68% specific with a 2.0 McFarland inoculum. BHI screen agar with 4 μg/ml vancomycin and casein and a 0.5 McFarland inoculum had the best sensitivity and specificity combination, was easy to perform, and may be useful for clinical detection of hVISA.     

Screening for Staphylococcus aureus with a reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in: a Belgian hospital

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of vancomycin resistance in clinical methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in our hospital by screening on Mueller-Hinton agar with 5 mg/l teicoplanin (MH-Teico), as recommended by the Comite de l'Antibiogramme of the Societe Francaise de Microbiologie (CA-SFM). Seventeen of 1002 clinical MRSA isolated from 404 patients showed in 2003 growth of at least four colonies on this medium, but only one was confirmed as homogeneous vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VISA) and five as heterogeneous VISA (hVISA) by population analysis. None of the patients presented with severe infection but awareness is needed and screening on MH-Teico as recommended by CA-SFM is a convenient method. Surveillance should be focused on patients with risk factors for selection of such strains: patients with a prolonged course of glycopeptide therapy and persistence of MRSA infection or colonization.     

Evaluation of Current Methods for Detection of Staphylococci with Reduced Susceptibility to Glycopeptides

The sensitivity and specificity of seven methods (agar dilution, broth microdilution, Etest at 0.5 and 2.0 McFarland (McF) inocula, two agar screening methods, and population studies [PS]) were evaluated in a double-blind study involving 284 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains and 45 Staphylococcus strains with reduced susceptibilities to vancomycin (SRSV). The results were compared to the population analysis profile-area under the curve ratio method (PAP-AUC ratio compared to that of Mu3) as described by Wootton et al. The agar screening method using brain heart infusion agar (6 microg of vancomycin per ml) gave a sensitivity of 22% and a specificity of 97%. A similar method using Mueller-Hinton agar (5 microg of vancomycin per ml) gave a sensitivity of 20% and a specificity of 99%. The PS method detected 34 false positives (12%) and gave a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 88%. Etest using 0.5 and 2.0 McF inocula gave sensitivities and specificities of 82 and 93% and of 96 and 97%, respectively. The best Etest interpretative criteria for the 2.0 McF inoculum was > or =8 mg of vancomycin per liter and > or =8 microg teicoplanin per ml or > or =12 microg of teicoplanin per ml. The direct colony suspension inoculum for this method was found to be equally accurate in detecting (hetero-)glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus compared to the overnight broth inoculum preparation method. Agar dilution and broth microdilution using the NCCLS breakpoint criteria for vancomycin gave sensitivities and specificities of 20 and 100% and of 11 and 100%, respectively. Using the Etest with a 2.0 McF inoculum, six different media were assessed against a selection of SRSV (n = 48) and MRSA (n = 12). Brain heart infusion agar yielded the highest sensitivity and specificity values: 88 and 88%, respectively.     

Emergence of teicoplanin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci.

Over a period of 5 years we have recovered 32 clinical isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) exhibiting either decreased levels of susceptibility or true resistance to teicoplanin (MICs, 16 to 128 micrograms/ml); these isolates make up 0.55% of the total CoNS isolated by us. Twenty-nine of the strains were also methicillin resistant, and all were susceptible to vancomycin. Fourteen of the strains were Staphylococcus epidermidis, fourteen were Staphylococcus haemolyticus, and four were Staphylococcus hominis. In one case, a strain of S. haemolyticus was isolated with a vancomycin-resistant, teicoplanin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis strain. All strains were nosocomially acquired and were isolated from 17 different wards. Teicoplanin resistance occurred as a sporadic phenomenon, and none of the isolates were epidemiologically related. The isolates were from 30 patients, 13 of whom presented with true infections (43%). Five (38%) of the 13 patients with true infections had been previously treated with vancomycin. None of the infected patients were previously treated with teicoplanin. The in vivo development of resistance to teicoplanin among CoNS strains limits the therapy of infections by these microorganisms. There is a need for surveillance of nosocomial isolates of CoNS to determine resistance to glycopeptides.     

Prevalence and clinical implications of Staphylococcus aureus with a vancomycin MIC of 4 microg/ml in Korea

In addition to vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA), S. aureus with a vancomycin MIC of 4 microg/ml has been reported to be the cause of therapeutic failure. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) with a vancomycin MIC of 4 microg/ml and to clarify the clinical characteristics of infections caused by these isolates. During the 8-week period from April to May, 2001, 27 hospitals participated in a nationwide surveillance program for VISA and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) in Korea. After screening on brain-heart infusion agar containing 4 microg/ml of vancomycin as previously described, 100 isolates with confluent growth were tested. The medical records of the patients involved were reviewed. Even though VISA or VRSA was not detected among 3,756 MRSA isolates, 18 (0.5%) had a vancomycin MIC of 4 microg/ml. The infections in 12 of these patients, excluding 5 that were colonized, were 8 chronic osteomyelitis, 1 surgical site infection, 1 pneumonia, 1 intra-abdominal infection, and 1 catheter-related infection. Although 11 cases were exposed to glycopeptides for a long time (median 56 days), the site of infection became culture-negative in only 1 case. Two patients died of their S. aureus infections. MRSA with a vancomycin MIC of 4 microg/ml was rare. Chronic osteomyelitis was the most common type of infection, and prolonged exposure to glycopeptides was associated with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin.     

Incidence of glycopeptide hetero-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus strains in Maltese hospitals

The incidence of hetero-intermediate glycopeptide susceptibility among Staphylococcus aureus isolates in Malta, a country with a high incidence of methicillin resistance, was studied by screening 454 non-repetitive S. aureus isolates on teicoplanin-supplemented agar plates, followed by Etests and genotypic studies. All strains were susceptible to vancomycin, but four (0.88%) exhibited teicoplanin MICs of > 12 mg/L. High methicillin-resistant S.aureus endemicity was not an accurate predictor of the emergence of non-susceptibility to glycopeptides.     

Comparative bactericidal activities of daptomycin, glycopeptides, linezolid and tigecycline against blood isolates of Gram-positive bacteria in Taiwan.

In-vitro MICs and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of daptomycin, linezolid, tigecycline, vancomycin and teicoplanin against Gram-positive bacteria were determined using the broth microdilution method for ten blood isolates each of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), including two vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis. One strain of VISA was tested in a time-kill synergism assay of daptomycin combined with oxacillin, imipenem, rifampicin and isepamicin. Daptomycin showed excellent in-vitro bactericidal activity against all the isolates tested, with no tolerance or synergism effects when combined with other agents, except with rifampicin against VISA. Vancomycin had better bactericidal activity against MRSA and MSSA than did teicoplanin. Linezolid had the poorest bactericidal activity against the isolates tested, with 100% tolerance by the MSSA and VRE isolates, and 80% tolerance by the MRSA isolates. Tolerance towards tigecycline was exhibited by 40% of the MRSA isolates, 100% of the MSSA and vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis isolates, and 90% of the vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolates.     

Low prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides in Belgian hospitals

Staphylococcus aureus strains with decreased susceptibility to glycopeptides (GISA) have been associated with increased risk of glycopeptide treatment failure. To assess the prevalence of these strains in hospitalised patients in Belgium, 455 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates collected in 2001 were screened by two assays: (i) growth on vancomycin agar screen (VAS; brain heart infusion agar (BHI) + vancomycin 6 mg/L); and (ii) a synergy/antagonism test with aztreonam/cefazolin on Mu3 agar (BHI + vancomycin 3 mg/mL). Isolates growing on VAS or Mu3 agar were characterised further by analysis of population susceptibility profiles. MICs of glycopeptides were determined by agar dilution, broth microdilution and Etest (low and high inocula) methods. The isolates were genotyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and determination of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type. No GISA isolates were found. Three (0.7%) hetero-vancomycin intermediate S. aureus (hVISA) and ten (2.2%) hetero-teicoplanin intermediate S. aureus (hTISA) isolates were identified by population analysis. All but one hetero-GISA isolate belonged to either epidemic PFGE group A/SCCmec type I (69%) or PFGE group D/SCCmec type I (23%), both of which were resistant to gentamicin. The sensitivity and specificity for the detection of hetero-GISA by the two assays were 15.4% and 99.8%, respectively, for VAS, and 84.6% and 95.9%, respectively, for Mu3. The data indicated that hetero-GISA strains were uncommon among Belgian MRSA isolates from hospitalised patients. Use of Mu3 agar was more sensitive, but less specific, than VAS as a screening method.     

In vitro activity of teicoplanin and vancomycin against gram-positive bacteria from human clinical and veterinary sources.

The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of teicoplanin and vancomycin was determined by the agar dilution method for 186 Gram-positive bacteria from human clinical and veterinary sources. Teicoplanin MIC values were less than or equal to 4 micrograms/ml for 94% of staphylococci (group A, n = 52) and less than or equal to 2 micrograms/ml for all streptococci, enterococci, aerococci and pediococci (group B, n = 75). Seventy-eight percent of Gram-positive rods, Rhodococcus and Leuconostoc spp. (group C, n = 59) were inhibited by 4 micrograms/ml. Teicoplanin resistance (MIC greater than or equal to 16 micrograms/ml) was demonstrated for all Nocardia strains and for some strains of Lactobacillus, E. rhusiopathiae, Leuconostoc, and S. haemolyticus. Cross-resistance between teicoplanin and vancomycin was observed for all Nocardia strains and for some strains of Lactobacillus, E. rhusiopathiae, and Leuconostoc. Three methicillin-resistant S. haemolyticus strains were either resistant or intermediately susceptible to teicoplanin and susceptible to vancomycin. Eight strains (motile enterococci four, E. rhusiopathiae three and Leuconostoc sp. one) were susceptible to teicoplanin and resistant to vancomycin. Teicoplanin disc diffusion on Danish Blood Agar with NeoSensitabs (Rosco), PDM AB Biodisc and locally prepared discs revealed a wide range of zone diameters in groups B and C. The relation between MIC values and zone diameters for teicoplanin was analysed by the error-rate bounded method. Zone size interpretive criteria as suggested by the manufacturers (greater than or equal to 15 mm) produced 2.7% (95% confidence limits 0.9-6.2%) and 1.6% (95% confidence limits 0.3-4.6%) very major errors for NeoSensitabs and PDM-disc, respectively. Using a zone size breakpoint for susceptibility of greater than or equal to 25 mm for NeoSensitabs and greater than or equal to 20 mm for PDM-disc, the proportions of very major errors were 0.5% (95% confidence limits 0.0-3.0%) at the expense of 5.9% (95% confidence limits 3.0-10.3%) indeterminate strains that belonged to E. rhusiopathiae, Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus and S. haemolyticus. However, using these zone size breakpoints five major errors (beta-haemolytic streptococci, group B three, S. aureus one, Leuconostoc sp. one) were observed for NeoSensitabs and two major errors (beta-haemolytic streptococcus, group B one, Leuconostoc sp. one) were observed for PDM-disc. Susceptibility testing against teicoplanin among these taxa should therefore include a determination of MIC.     

In vitro evaluation of antibiotic release from and bacteria growth inhibition by antibiotic-loaded acrylic bone cement spacers

The antibiotic release from and the bacteria growth inhibition by antibiotic-loaded acrylic bone cement hip spacers were studied. The cement used was Palacos R, and it was loaded with either one antibiotic powder (gentamicin, vancomycin, teicoplanin, or synercid) [monoantibiotic case] or two antibiotic powders (gentamicin + vancomycin or gentamicin + teicoplanin) [biantibiotic case] and then tested against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Antibiotic elution and bacteria growth were measured every 24 h simultaneously by fluorescence polarization immunoassay and photometrically, respectively. The gentamicin + vancomycin combination achieved the longest growth inhibition on S. epidermidis and MRSA (mean of 20 and 14 days, respectively). Gentamicin + teicoplanin-loaded spacers were capable of inhibiting growth on E. faecalis and S. aureus for the longest period (11 and 16 days, respectively). The highest concentrations of gentamicin and vancomycin could be assayed during the first 4 days. Teicoplanin concentrations could be detected only during the first 72 h, synercid was not detected at all, possibly because of the limitation of the detection technique used. A greater percentage of the gentamicin was released than of the vancomycin. The aminoglycosid-glycopeptid combination showed a synergistic effect on the release of gentamicin, but not on vancomycin or teicoplanin. Biantibiotic-impregnated hip spacers proved to be superior to monoantibiotic ones. Because of important differences between the conditions used for the present tests and the in vivo environment, any recommendation with regard to the use of monoantibiotic- and biantibiotic-loaded acrylic bone cement spacers must await the results of further investigations.     

Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus in Korea

Recent reports on some methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin have been a major concern in Korea because of the widespread use of vancomycin due to a high prevalence of MRSA in the country. We describe a 45-year-old man with long-standing pelvic abscess due to MRSA. In spite of vancomycin and teicoplanin treatment for a long period of time, the patient died from MRSA sepsis. The blood culture isolate of MRSA exhibited reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (MIC, 8 microg/ml). This is the first report of a vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus case from Korea.     

Pharmacodynamic comparison of linezolid, teicoplanin and vancomycin against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci collected from hospitals in Brazil.

Pharmacodynamic exposures, measured as the ratio of steady-state total drug area under the curve to MIC (AUC/MIC), were modelled using a 5000-patient Monte-Carlo simulation against 119 non-duplicate clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and 82 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) collected from hospitals in Brazil between 2003 and 2005. Pharmacodynamic targets included an AUC/MIC >82.9 for linezolid and >345 for teicoplanin and vancomycin, as well as a free drug AUC/MIC >180 for vancomycin. The cumulative fractions of response (CFRs) against all S. aureus isolates were 96.0%, 30.1%, 71.6%, 48.0% and 65.1% for linezolid 600 mg every 12 h, teicoplanin 400 mg every 24 h and 800 mg every 24 h, and vancomycin 1000 mg every 12 h and every 8 h, respectively. Using a free drug target for vancomycin improved the CFR to 94.6% for the high-dose regimen, but did not substantially alter results for the lower dose. CFRs against all CNS isolates were 97.8%, 13.4%, 34.6%, 10.9% and 31.3%, respectively, for the same antibiotic regimens. The CFR was reduced for all compounds among the methicillin-resistant isolates, except for linezolid against methicillin-resistant CNS. Sensitivity analyses did not alter the final order of pharmacodynamic potency against these isolates. Although higher doses of vancomycin and teicoplanin increased the CFR, the likelihood of achieving bactericidal targets was still lower than with linezolid. The results for the high-dose vancomycin regimen were highly dependent on the pharmacodynamic target utilised. These data suggest that linezolid has a greater probability of attaining its requisite pharmacodynamic target than teicoplanin and vancomycin against these staphylococci.     

First report of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in Thailand

To investigate whether there are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in Thailand, a total of 155 MRSA strains isolated from patients hospitalized between 1988 and 1999 in university hospitals in Thailand were tested for glycopeptide susceptibility. All the strains were classified as susceptible to vancomycin and teicoplanin when judged by NCCLS criteria for glycopeptide susceptibility using the agar dilution MIC determination. Vancomycin MICs at which 50 and 90% of the isolates tested were inhibited (MIC50 and MIC(90), respectively) were 0.5 and 1 microg/ml, respectively, with a range of 0.25 to 2 microg/ml. For teicoplanin, MIC50 and MIC90 were 2 microg/ml, with a range of 0.5 to 4 microg/ml. However, one-point population analysis identified three MRSA strains, MR135, MR187, and MR209, which contained subpopulations of cells that could grow in 4 microg of vancomycin per ml. The proportions of the subpopulations were 2 x 10(-4), 1.5 x 10(-6), and 4 x 10(-7), respectively. The subsequent performance of a complete population analysis and testing for the emergence of mutants with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (MIC > or = 8 microg/ml) confirmed that these strains were heterogeneously resistant to vancomycin. Two of these strains caused infection that was refractory to vancomycin therapy. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed that the two strains had identical SmaI macrorestriction patterns and that they were one of the common types of MRSA isolated in the hospital. This is the first report of heterogeneous resistance to vancomycin in Thailand and an early warning for the possible emergence of vancomycin resistance in S. aureus in Southeast Asia.     

Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Staphylococcus aureus in Poland obtained by the National Quality Assurance Programme

As part of the Polish external quality assurance scheme, clinical laboratories were asked to send five consecutive isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and the corresponding susceptibility results to the national Centre of Quality Control in Microbiology. Of 1376 isolates submitted as S. aureus from 276 medical centres, 13 (< 1%) had been misidentified by local laboratories. Of 181 (13.5%) methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates, most were identified correctly (c. 98% of laboratories). Although all MRSA isolates were fully susceptible to vancomycin, teicoplanin and linezolid, they were usually multiresistant; almost 23% were resistant to seven antimicrobial agents. Most (> 90%) MSSA isolates were susceptible to the tested antibiotics, except penicillin (21% susceptible) and tetracycline (62.4% susceptible). In addition to evaluating the proficiency of testing by local laboratories, the study yielded valuable information regarding the susceptibility patterns of S. aureus isolates in Poland.