title: Prevalence of oropharyngeal beta-lactamase-producing Capnocytophaga spp. in pediatric oncology patients over a ten-year period.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jolivet-Gougeon
authors.forename: Zohreh
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tamanai-Shacoori
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Desbordes
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gandemer
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Sixou
authors.forename: Nolwenn
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morvan-Graveline
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cormier
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonnaure-Mallet
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D001618:beta-Lactamases