title: Antimicrobial resistance in staphylococci. Epidemiology, molecular mechanisms, and clinical relevance.
abstract: Staphylococcal infections continue to pose important clinical problems in children and adults. Antibiotic resistance among the staphylococci has rendered therapy of these infections a therapeutic challenge. Despite early, uniform susceptibility to penicillin, staphylococci acquired a gene elaborating beta-lactamase that rendered penicillin inactive and that is borne by nearly all clinical isolates. "Penicillinase-resistant beta-lactams," such as methicillin, were introduced in the early 1960s, but resistance to them has become an increasing concern. The mechanism of the so-called "methicillin resistance" is complex. Moreover, once confined to the ecology of hospitals and other institutions, a recent increase in community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections has been observed. Glycopeptides, until now the only uniformly reliable therapeutic modality, have been increasingly used for therapy of staphylococcal infections. The recent recognition of clinical isolates with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides is of concern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Maranan
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boyle-Vavra
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Daum
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000266:history / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents