title: High rates of multidrug resistance in Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium isolated from inpatients and outpatients in Taiwan.
abstract: Longitudinal national data on resistance in Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium from different sources in Taiwan are rare. The present study analyzed data from the Taiwan Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance program to address this issue. Between 2002 and 2010, a total of 1696 E. faecalis and 452 E. faecium isolates were studied. Although these 2 species together comprised similar percentages of all enterococci in each study year (94.1-97.2%, P = 0.19), the proportion of E. faecium increased from 12.4% in 2002 to 27.3% in 2010 (P < 0.001). The most noteworthy change in susceptibilities of these 2 species was vancomycin resistance in E. faecium (VREfm), which increased from 0.3% in 2004 to 24.9% in 2010 (P < 0.001). VREfm prevalence differed significantly between geographic regions, patient age groups, and locations. Multidrug resistance was very common in both species even in isolates from outpatients (82.7% for E. faecalis and 98.1% for E. faecium), at rates similar to those from intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients (80.5-80.9% in E. faecalis and 97.2-98.6% in E. faecium). Nonsusceptibility to linezolid was <0.5% in both species. All tested isolates were susceptible to daptomycin. Continuous surveillance of VRE prevalence and survey of community reservoirs of multidrug-resistant enterococci are warranted.
authors: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors: Jann-Tay
authors: JT
authors: Wang
authors: Shan-Chwen
authors: SC
authors: Chang
authors: Hui-Yin
authors: HY
authors: Wang
authors: Pei-Chen
authors: PC
authors: Chen
authors: Yih-Ru
authors: YR
authors: Shiau
authors: Tsai-Ling
authors: TL
authors: Lauderdale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D015995:Prevalence; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents