Prevalence of oropharyngeal beta-lactamase-producing Capnocytophaga spp. in pediatric oncology patients over a ten-year period.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of beta-lactamase-producing Capnocytophaga isolates in young children hospitalized in the Pediatric Oncology Department of Hôpital Sud (Rennes, France) over a ten-year period (1993-2002).


METHODS
In neutropenic children, a periodic survey of the oral cavity allows a predictive evaluation of the risk of systemic infections by Capnocytophaga spp. In 449 children with cancer, 3,053 samples were collected by oral swabbing and plated on TBBP agar. The susceptibility of Capnocytophaga isolates to five beta-lactams was determined.


RESULTS
A total of 440 strains of Capnocytophaga spp. were isolated, 309 (70%) of which were beta-lactamase producers. The beta-lactamase-producing strains were all resistant to cefazolin, 86% to amoxicillin, and 63% to ceftazidime. The proportion of strains resistant to third-generation cephalosporins remained high throughout the ten-year study, while susceptibility to imipenem and amoxicillin combined with clavulanic acid was always conserved.


CONCLUSIONS
These results highlight the risk of antibiotic failure in Capnocytophaga infections and the importance of monitoring immunosuppressed patients and testing for antibiotic susceptibility and beta-lactamase production.
Jolivet-Gougeon
Anne
A
Equipe de Microbiologie, UPRES-EA 1254, Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, Université de Rennes 1, 2 avenue du Professeur Léon Bernard, 35043 Rennes, France. anne.gougeon@univ-rennes1.fr
Tamanai-Shacoori
Zohreh
Z
Desbordes
Laurent
L
Gandemer
Virginie
V
Sixou
Jean-Louis
JL
Morvan-Graveline
Nolwenn
N
Cormier
Michel
M
Bonnaure-Mallet
Martine
M
D002206:Capnocytophaga / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013997:Time Factors; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000378:metabolism*
D001618:beta-Lactamases