title: Gentamicin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Emergence in an intensive care nursery.
abstract: Gentamicin sulfate--resistant Staphylococcus aureus suddenly appeared in an intensive care nursery in December 1976 and became the dominant Staphylococcus; it accounted for 96% of the isolates by April 1977. All gentamicin-resistant strains were sensitive to amikacin sulfate, but 98% and 49% were resistant to kanamycin sulfate and tobramycin sulfate, respectively. All but one of the gentamicin-resistant strains were sensitive to methicillin sodium. The mechanism of gentamicin resistance appears to be plasmid mediated. Phage typing, used for epidemiologic purposes, also demonstrated that most gentamicin-resistant strains shared susceptibility to phages 29 and 52; however, 13% were completely different, indicating that gentamicin resistance is not solely related to a phage-susceptible factor.
mesh_terms: D001434:Bacteriophage Typing; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D009725:Nurseries, Hospital; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005839:Gentamicins