title: Antimicrobial resistance surveillance of bacteria in 1999 in Korea with a special reference to resistance of enterococci to vancomycin and gram-negative bacilli to third generation cephalosporin, imipenem, and fluoroquinolone.
abstract: The trend of antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from patients in 30 Korean hospitals in 1999 was analyzed with a particular attention to cefotaxime- or fluoroquinolone-resistant gram-negative bacilli, imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Adequacy of susceptibility testing, and any change in the frequencies of isolated species were also analyzed. The results showed that only 20% and 30% of hospitals tested the piperacillin-tazobactam and cefoxitin susceptibility of Enterobacteriaceae, respectively, only 24% of hospitals the piperacillin-tazobactam susceptibility of P. aeruginosa, and 17% of hospitals the fusidic acid susceptibility of staphylococci. Among the isolates 26.3% were glucose-nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli, and 34.7% of Enterococcus were Enterococcus faecium. Slight decline of cefotaxime-resistance rate to 20% was noted in Klebsiella pneumoniae, while fluoroquinolone-resistance rate was 68% in Acinetobacter baumannii. The ceftazidime- and imipenem-resistance rates were 17% and 18%, respectively in P. aeruginosa. The vancomycin-resistance rate of E. faecium rose significantly to 15.1%, but the rates varied significantly depending on hospitals suggesting presence of different degree of selective pressure or nosocomial spread. In conclusion, the prevalence of imipenem-resistant P. aeruginosa and the increase of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium were the particularly worrisome phenomena observed in this study.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chong
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000187:drug effects; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects*; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007723:Korea; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002511:Cephalosporins; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D015378:Imipenem