title: Antibacterial activity of carbapenems against clinical isolates of respiratory bacterial pathogens in the northeastern region of Japan in 2007.
abstract: As the increasing prevalence of resistant strains of respiratory bacterial pathogens has recently been reported, continuous monitoring of the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antibacterial agents is important. We performed a surveillance study focusing on the susceptibility of major respiratory bacterial pathogens in the northeastern region of Japan to carbapenems and control drugs. A total of 168 bacterial strains isolated from patients with respiratory tract infections in 2007 were collected and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determined. MIC data were subjected to pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis with Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the probability of achieving the target of time above MIC with each carbapenem. All Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolates were susceptible to carbapenems. Despite the increasing prevalence of β-lactamase-nonproducing ampicillin-resistant strains, all Haemophilus influenzae isolates were susceptible to meropenem. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the susceptibility rates for meropenem and biapenem were 76.7%, and the highest probability of achieving pharmacodynamic target (40% of the time above MIC) was obtained with meropenem 0.5 g three times daily as a 4-h infusion (89.4%), followed by meropenem 0.5 g four times daily as a 1-h infusion (88.4%). Carbapenems have retained their position as key drugs for severe respiratory tract infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-cho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gomi
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujimura
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fuse
authors.forename: Hidenari
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takane
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kariya
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Iku
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokue
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D015780:Carbapenems / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D006095:Gram-Positive Cocci / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015780:Carbapenems