title: Trends in antimicrobial susceptibilities among bacterial pathogens isolated from patients hospitalized in European medical centers: 6-year report of the MYSTIC Surveillance Study (1997-2002).
abstract: The Meropenem Yearly Susceptibility Test Information Collection (MYSTIC) Program provides antimicrobial susceptibility data. The activity of meropenem and 7 broad-spectrum antimicrobials have been examined against 12645 bacterial isolates from 14 European centers between 1997 and 2002. Cumulative susceptibility rates against all species of Enterobacteriaceae combined were ranked as follows: meropenem (99.9%) > imipenem (97.7%) > ciprofloxacin (86.0%) > piperacillin-tazobactam (85.6%) > ceftazidime (85.4%) > gentamicin (85.4%) > tobramycin (85.0%) > cefotaxime (83.8%). The carbapenems were also found to be the most active of the classes tested against nonfermentative Gram-negative bacilli. Against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci, all beta-lactams tested (except ceftazidime) had susceptibility rates of > or = 99.0% and > or = 94.3%, respectively. Over the 6-year period, there was no loss of activity or increase in resistance rate for either carbapenem against any of the species tested. These data confirm the continued potency and broad-spectrum activity of meropenem in units where it is actively being prescribed.
authors.affiliation: Infection Therapy Area, AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, SK10 4TG Cheshire, UK. philip.turner@astrazeneca.com
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Turner
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005060:Europe; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D000077731:Meropenem; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D013845:Thienamycins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D013845:Thienamycins; D000077731:Meropenem