Antibiotic susceptibility of isolated from patients with acne in a public hospital in Southwest China: prospective cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE

Antibiotics have been routinely used for several decades against (), but antibiotic resistance of is becoming a global problem. Only one related Chinese study is available. The aim of this study was to assess the antibiotic susceptibility of obtained from patients with acne in Southwest China.

DESIGN

This was a prospective cross-sectional study. Cutaneous samples were obtained from acne lesions on the face of 375 patients. Samples were cultured in anaerobic medium to identify the presence of . Susceptibility tests of isolated were performed for tetracycline, doxycycline, clindamycin, erythromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin using the Epsilometer test.

RESULTS

was isolated from 227 patients; 224 isolates (98.7%) were susceptible to doxycycline and 220 (96.9%) were susceptible to tetracycline, followed by clindamycin and clarithromycin in 101 (44.5%) and 102 (44.93%) isolates, respectively. Susceptibility of was detected for erythromycin in 96 (42.3%) patients, followed by azithromycin in 94 (41.4%). Subjects who received antibiotics (topical and oral) had higher frequencies of antibiotic-resistant as well as increased antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentrations compared with patients without antibiotic treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

was highly sensitive to cyclines (doxycycline and tetracycline). showed higher resistance rates to macrolides-lincosamides-streptogramins antibiotics (such as erythromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin and clindamycin). The irrational use of antibiotics for acne treatment is probably a problem in China and elsewhere. These results suggest that dermatologists should be more prudent in prescribing antibiotics for acne.