title: Diarrhea associated with Shigella in children and susceptibility to antimicrobials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the distribution and susceptibility to antimicrobials of Shigella isolated from children with acute diarrhea and without diarrhea in Teresina, state of Piauí, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred children aged up to 60 months were studied. Stools were collected from all the patients between January 2004 and August 2007. Shigella was identified by conventional methods and antibiogram and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) were performed by agar diffusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Shigellosis was only detected in children with acute diarrhea (26/250; 10.4%), especially in those aged from 6 to 24 months and in the rainy months. Shigella was susceptible to ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid. More than half of the strains were resistant to sulphametoxazole-trimethoprim and ampicillin. ESBL was not detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  S. flexneri is common in Teresina. The resistance to ampicillin and sulphametoxazole-trimethoprim gives cause for concern, as these drugs are widely used in practice and sulphametoxazole-trimethoprim is also recommended for treating children suspected of having shigellosis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia e Microbiologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Teresina, PI, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Rosário C M
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Paula P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Penna
authors.forename: João Maurício M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Edilberto N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Mendes
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000667:Ampicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001938:Brazil; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012763:Shigella flexneri / Q000187:drug effects*; D012764:Shigella sonnei / Q000187:drug effects*; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / Q000494:pharmacology; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000667:Ampicillin; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination; D001618:beta-Lactamases