Flucloxacillin, still the empirical choice for putative Staphylococcus aureus infections in intensive care units in the Netherlands.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the usefulness of flucloxacillin as empirical therapy for putative Staphylococcus aureus infections in intensive care unit (ICU) patients in the Netherlands, the antibiotic resistance of S. aureus isolates from ICUs over a 13 year period was investigated.


METHODS
From 1996 to 2008, 1146 consecutive S. aureus isolates from ICU patients in 14 large referral hospitals were collected. The susceptibility to relevant antibiotics was determined by microbroth dilution according to CLSI guidelines.


RESULTS
Resistance to flucloxacillin was only found in 12 isolates (1%). The resistance to clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin showed a significant trend over time, from 4.2% to 10.3%, from 1.0% to approximately 10% and from 0.0% to approximately 5.0%, respectively (P < 0.05). The resistance to penicillin, clindamycin and doxycycline increased over time, from 74% to 75%, from approximately 3.0% in 1996 to 3.2% in 2008 and from 2.2% in 1996 to 8.2% in 2008, respectively (P > 0.05). Resistance to cephalosporins, carbapenems, rifampicin and gentamicin was sporadically observed. No resistance was found to vancomycin, teicoplanin and linezolid.


CONCLUSIONS
The empirical choice of flucloxacillin in the case of putative S. aureus infections in patients admitted to ICUs in the Netherlands is still justified.
Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
M I A
MI
Rijnders
R H
RH
Deurenberg
M L L
ML
Boumans
J A A
JA
Hoogkamp-Korstanje
P S
PS
Beisser
E E
EE
Stobberingh
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005436:Floxacillin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009426:Netherlands; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005436:Floxacillin