title: Low-level vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus--an Australian perspective.
abstract: Low-level vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus has emerged as a clinical problem over the past 8 years. The clinical relevance of this resistance has been questioned, and laboratory detection remains difficult and time consuming. There is, however, increasing evidence linking low-level vancomycin resistance with glycopeptide treatment failure in serious Staphylococcus aureus infections. Diagnostic laboratories and clinicians need to be aware of this resistance phenotype, to have procedures in place to detect the resistance, and to have strategies for managing patients with infections caused by resistant strains.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia. benjamin.howden@austin.org.au
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Howden
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: P D R
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: P G P
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Grayson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001315:Australia; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents