European Glycopeptide Susceptibility Survey of gram-positive bacteria for 1995. European Glycopeptide Resistance Survey Study Group.

In the European Glycopeptide Susceptibility Survey 7078 Gram-positive isolates collected in 1995 from 70 centers in 9 countries of Western Europe were examined, using a standardized, quantitative susceptibility testing method. Of the 7078 isolates, 6824 (96.4%) were tested by the national coordinating centers. Teicoplanin (mode MIC 0.5 microgram/mL) was generally twice as active as vancomycin (mode MIC 1 microgram/mL) against Staphylococcus aureus (n = 2852). All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin (MIC < or = 4 micrograms/mL) and all but four to teicoplanin (MIC < or = 8 micrograms/mL); these four isolates were of intermediate susceptibility (MIC 16 micrograms/mL). With coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 1444), the distribution of MIC of teicoplanin was wider than for vancomycin. Two and two-tenths percent of coagulase-negative staphylococci excluding Staphylococcus haemolyticus required 16 micrograms/mL teicoplanin for inhibition (intermediate) and 0.4% > or = 32 micrograms/mL (resistant). Among isolates of S. haemolyticus, 4.4% were of intermediate susceptibility (MIC 16 micrograms/mL) and 3.3% were resistant (MIC > or = 32 micrograms/mL) to teicoplanin. However, this species represented only 6.3% of the isolates of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. Generally, teicoplanin (mode MIC < or = 0.12 microgram/mL) was four to eight times more active than vancomycin (mode MIC < or = 0.5 microgram/mL) against the 770 streptococcal isolates. Glycopeptide-susceptible Enterococcus spp. (n = 1695) were generally four times more susceptible to teicoplanin (mode MIC 0.25 microgram/mL) than to vancomycin (mode MIC 1 microgram/mL). Combined vancomycin and teicoplanin (VanA phenotype) resistance was observed more frequently (9.3%) in isolates of Enterococcus faecium than in Enterococcus faecalis (0.8%). Four isolates of unspeciated enterococci (1.4%) also expressed this resistance phenotype. Four isolates of E. faecium and four of E. faecalis expressed the VanB-type (low-level, vancomycin only) resistance. Spain was the only country not to submit resistant E. faecium strains while resistant E. faecalis isolates came only from Spain and Italy.