title: Antimicrobial activity of seven oral antibiotics against selected community- and hospital-acquired pathogens.
abstract: The in vitro activity of seven oral antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, cephalexin, cefaclor, cefadroxil, cefuroxime, cefixime, and amoxicillin/clavulanate) was tested against 355 hospital-acquired pathogens and 342 community-acquired organisms. Whereas Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the most common pathogens isolated in community-acquired infections, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas were isolated most frequently in hospital-acquired infections. All antibiotics with the exception of cefixime were active against the methicillin-susceptible staphylococci. Ciprofloxacin was the most active antibiotic against the members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas. The community-acquired organisms tended to be more susceptible to antibiotics than the hospital-acquired organisms. Thus selection of oral antibiotics for the management of patients with hospital-acquired infections should be based on knowledge of the susceptibility patterns of hospital isolates.
authors.affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002444:Cefuroxime / Q000494:pharmacology; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000494:pharmacology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D004754:Enterobacter / Q000187:drug effects; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007709:Klebsiella / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000187:drug effects; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002939:Ciprofloxacin; D002444:Cefuroxime