[Surveillance for antimicrobial resistance: VIRA Study].

INTRODUCTION

Resistance to antimicrobial drugs has increased in recent years. The aim of this multicenter study was to determine the current situation in Spain regarding the resistance patterns of the most common infectious agents to antimicrobial drugs.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total 1,475 strains isolated in 38 hospitals in October 2001 were studied. These included 294 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 149 clinically significant coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), 96 Enterococcus faecium, 1 ampicillin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, 204 penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, 100 ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae, 361 ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli, 160 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 110 Acinetobacter baumannii. Sensitivity to various antibiotics was studied by a broth microdilution method. Additionally, an epidemiologic survey was conducted in the participating hospitals to determine the incidence of these multi-drug resistant microorganisms.

RESULTS

Overall incidence of ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli and MRSA strains was 24% in both cases. The pneumococci were resistant to several antibiotics. Telithromycin showed excellent activity against all the pneumococci, including those resistant to macrolides. Most MRSA isolates were resistant to quinolones and macrolides. All the staphylococci were susceptible to linezolid and quinupristin-dalfopristin. Only 50% of A. baumannii strains were susceptible to imipenem.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study evidence increasing multi-drug resistance among various microorganisms, such as MRSA, CNS, ampicillin-resistant enterococci, and penicillin-resistant pneumococci, and underline the need for surveillance programs to gain information on this significant therapeutic problem.