Abstract
Aims: Enterococcus species are major nosocomial pathogens and they most commonly cause urinary tract infections (UTIs), exhibiting vancomycin and high-level aminoglycoside resistance (HLAR) with increasing frequency, resulting in high mortality of patients with serious enterococcal infections. Detection of resistance is thus of paramount importance. The present study aims to detect and determine the HLAR pattern of Enterococci isolated from urine samples of patients diagnosed with UTI at our hospital. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru for a period of 1 year from January 2013 to December 2013. A total of 105 enterococcal strains were isolated from urine samples and speciated as per the scheme of Facklam and Collins. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined for various drugs by Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. The results were interpreted as per the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Results: Ninety-three of the 105 (88.6%) isolates showed high-level resistance to gentamicin and/or streptomycin. Combined resistance to both the aminoglycosides, high level gentamicin and streptomycin (HLAR), was seen only in Enterococcus faecalis 20/105 (19.04%). Of the two isolates of Enterococcus faecium, 1 (50%) was seen to be resistant to high level gentamicin. The HLAR E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates also showed concordant resistance to multiple antibiotics including vancomycin. Conclusion: This study highlights the need to screen for HLAR in patients suffering from enterococcal infections. Routine screening for HLAR is important to limit the spread of resistance and to have a surveillance program.
Published Version
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