J Korean Med Sci.  2001 Jun;16(3):262-270. 10.3346/jkms.2001.16.3.262.

Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance of Bacteria in 1999 in Korea with a Special Reference to Resistance of Enterococci to Vancomycin and Gram-Negative Bacilli to Third Generation Cephalosporin, Imipenem, and Fluoroquinolone

• Lee K
• Lee HS
• Jang SJ
• Park AJ
• Lee MH
• Song WK
• Chong YS
• Members of Korean Nationwide Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance Group

• KMID: 1129895
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2001.16.3.262

Abstract

The trend of antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from patients in 30 Korean hospitals in 1999 was analyzed with a particular attention to cefotaxime- or fluoroquinolone-resistant gram-negative bacilli, imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Adequacy of susceptibility testing, and any change in the frequencies of isolated species were also analyzed. The results showed that only 20% and 30% of hospitals tested the piperacillin-tazobactam and cefoxitin susceptibility of Enterobacteriaceae, respectively, only 24% of hospitals the piperacillin-tazobactam susceptibility of P. aeruginosa, and 17% of hospitals the fusidic acid susceptibility of staphylococci. Among the isolates 26.3% were glucose-nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli, and 34.7% of Enterococcus were Enterococcus faecium. Slight decline of cefotaxime-resistance rate to 20% was noted in Klebsiella pneumoniae, while fluoroquinolone-resistantce rate was 68% in Acinetobacter baumannii. The ceftazidime- and imipenem-resistance rates were 17% and 18%, respectively in P. aeruginosa. The vancomycin-resistance rate of E. faecium rose significantly to 15.1%, but the rates varied significantly depending on hospitals suggesting presence of different degree of selective pressure or nosocomial spread. In conclusion, the prevalence of imipenem-resistant P. aeruginosa and the increase of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium were the particularly worrisome phenomena observed in this study.

Keyword

Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in Korea; Resistance Surveillance; Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci; Imipenem-Resistant Pseudomonas

MeSH Terms

Anti-Infective Agents, Fluoroquinolone/*pharmacology
Antibiotics/*pharmacology
Cephalosporins/*pharmacology
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Enterobacteriaceae/drug effects
Enterococcus/*drug effects
Gram-Negative Bacteria/*drug effects
Human
Imipenem/*pharmacology
Korea
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Pseudomonas aeruginosa/drug effects
*Vancomycin Resistance