title: Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bacteria at the Makassed General Hospital in Lebanon.
abstract: Bacterial resistance to various antimicrobial agents is most common in areas with high usage of antibiotics such as in countries where over-the-counter availability promotes usage. In Lebanon, information about bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents is limited. In this study, data on the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns have been collected for the last 7 years in addition to the first 6 months of 1996 at the Makassed General Hospital in Lebanon. Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas species proved to have high but variable rates of multidrug resistance. Among Staphylococcus aureus isolates, 17% were resistant to methicillin. A high percentage of resistance to penicillin (76-88%) was noted among Streptococcus pneumoniae. These resistance patterns were generally comparable with those of other medical centres.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Makassed General Hospital, P.O. Box 6301, Beirut, Lebanon. mghadmin@cyberia.net.lb
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Shaar
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Al-Hajjar
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents