title: Activity of meropenem and comparators against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter spp. isolated in the MYSTIC Program, 2002-2004.
abstract: This study examines the susceptibilities of meropenem and other broad-spectrum antimicrobials tested against bacterial isolates collected from hospitalized patients during 2002-2004 from worldwide medical centers participating in the Meropenem Yearly Susceptibility Test Information Collection (MYSTIC) Program. The in vitro activity of meropenem and 5 comparator antimicrobial agents was assessed against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter spp. Generally, the susceptibility of Australasian and North American isolates was higher than that of the European and South American isolates. The rank order of activity of the antimicrobial agents tested against a worldwide collection of P. aeruginosa was piperacillin/tazobactam (77.7% susceptible) > meropenem (75.4%) > ceftazidime (70.0%) > imipenem (69.7%) > gentamicin (66.1%) > ciprofloxacin (62.0%). Against a worldwide collection of Acinetobacter spp. meropenem (76.1% susceptible) was the most active compound followed by imipenem (74.7%) > gentamicin (51.9%) > ciprofloxacin (40.5%) > piperacillin/tazobactam (39.8%) > ceftazidime (38.1%). The carbapenems appear to be a valuable option for the treatment of serious nosocomial infections caused by P. aeruginosa or Acinetobacter spp. over a broad geographical region.
authors.affiliation: Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06100, Turkey. sunal@hacettepe.edu.tr
authors.forename: Serhat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.forename: Jose Angel
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Garcia-Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000187:drug effects*; D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001208:Asia; D001315:Australia; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D000077731:Meropenem; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009656:North America; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects*; D013020:South America; D013845:Thienamycins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D013845:Thienamycins; D000077731:Meropenem