title: Increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among organisms isolated from blood culture in a Singapore hospital.
abstract: The blood culture isolates obtained over the period 1985-1990 in a general teaching hospital were reviewed to determine trends in the prevalence of resistance to antimicrobial drugs. The percentages of Staphylococcus aureus isolates resistant to methicillin increased each year. Resistance among coagulase negative staphylococci also increased in prevalence: by 1990 approximately 50% of such isolates were resistant to methicillin, erythromycin, co-trimoxazole and gentamicin, 24% were resistant to clindamycin, 20% to fucidic acid but only 0.5% to vancomycin. Isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, excluding community-acquired salmonellae, showed increasing prevalence of resistance to beta-lactams, as did Acinetobacter spp isolates to gentamicin, co-trimoxazole and ceftriaxone. The isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were exceptional, having no evident increase in the prevalence of resistance during the period. The rapid increases observed in relation to the other pathogens indicate the need for an antibiotic policy based on continuous surveillance of susceptibility patterns in the hospital.
authors: Department of Laboratory Medicine, National University Hospital Singapore.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Kumarasinghe
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Chow
authors: L H
authors: LH
authors: Yin
authors: S Y
authors: SY
authors: Hong
authors: D C
authors: DC
authors: Bassett
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004363:Drug Utilization; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000639:trends; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents