title: Species identification and antibiotic susceptibility of enterococci isolated from clinical specimens of hospitalized patients.
abstract: Over a 4-month period, a total of 315 enterococci were isolated from various clinical specimens of hospitalized patients. By applying an array of biochemical tests, all strains were accurately identified to the species level, and their susceptibilities to clinically relevant antibiotics were determined by a standardized agar dilution technique. E. faecalis and E. faecium accounted for 87.3% and 9.2% of isolates, respectively. E. avium (1%), E. gallinarum (1%), E. durans (0.6%), E. hirae (0.6%), and E. casseliflavus (0.3%) isolates were also identified. Eleven strains of E. faecium and 1 E. hirae isolate were resistant to ampicillin, but none of the isolates produced beta-lactamase. Twenty-three E. faecium and 3 E. faecalis strains as well as 1 E. hirae isolate revealed imipenem resistance. A total of 25.4% enterococci (60 E. faecalis and 19 E. faecium isolates, 1 E. hirae strain) were erythromycin-resistant. Twelve strains (11 E. faecium and 1 E. avium) exhibited ciprofloxacin resistance. High-level resistance to streptomycin was found in 58 (21.1%) E. faecalis, 9 (31%) E. faecium, and both E. hirae strains, whereas high-level gentamicin resistance (HLGR) was exclusively seen in the species E. faecalis (11.6% of isolates belonging to this species). A simple agar screening test containing 500 micrograms of gentamicin per ml proved to be highly reliable for detection of HLGR. The structural gene coding for HLGR was specifically amplified by the polymerase chain reaction in all isolates showing this resistance trait. Moreover, the gene was specifically detected by a nonradioactively labelled oligonucleotide probe in colony blot hybridization assays, indicating the potential application of these molecular approaches as a diagnostic tool.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, Technical University (RWTH) Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaufhold
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000667:Ampicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000494:pharmacology; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem / Q000494:pharmacology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002939:Ciprofloxacin; D004917:Erythromycin; D015378:Imipenem; D000667:Ampicillin