Emerging Resistance of Anaerobic Bacteria to Antimicrobial Agents in South Korea

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases 1996-12, Vol.23 (Supplement-1), p.S73-S77
• Main Authors: Lee, Kyungwon, Chong, Yunsop, Jeong, Seok Hoon, Xu, Xue-Song, Kwon, Oh Hun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anaerobic bacteria; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterials; Antibiotics; Antimicrobials; Bacteria, Anaerobic - drug effects; Bacteria, Anaerobic - isolation & purification; Bacterial Infections - drug therapy; Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Bacterial Infections - microbiology; Bacteriology; Bacteroides; Bacteroides - drug effects; Bacteroides fragilis; Bacteroides fragilis - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Clindamycin - pharmacology; Clostridium perfringens - drug effects; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Epidemiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Korea - epidemiology; Labor standards; Lactams; Microbiology; Penicillin; Peptostreptococcus; Peptostreptococcus - drug effects; Tropical medicine
• ISSN: 1058-4838; 1537-6591
• DOI: 10.1093/clinids/23.Supplement_1.S73

In previous studies, Bacteroides fragilis group organisms isolated from Korean patients were more frequently resistant to various antimicrobial agents, including clindamycin, than were isolates in other countries. A recent report of increased resistance of Peptostreptococcus species prompted us to include such isolates in a study of antimicrobial susceptibility. Anaerobes isolated in 1994 at a tertiary care hospital in Seoul were tested by an agar dilution method. None of the B. fragilis group organisms were resistant to imipenem, cefoxitin, chloramphenicol, or metronidazole. However, 6.7% were resistant to ampicillin/sulbactam, 20.2% to cefotetan, 30.3% to piperacillin, 48.3% to cefotaxime, and 42.7% to clindamycin. Almost all of the Clostridium perfringens isolates were susceptible to all of the agents tested, except tetracycline. Peptostreptococcus isolates were susceptible to piperacillin, cefotaxime, and imipenem, while 7.4% were resistant to penicillin G, cefotetan, and metronidazole, and 25.9% were resistant to clindamycin. The isolates resistant to penicillin G, cefotetan, and metronidazole were identified as Peptostreptococcus anaerobius. In conclusion, besides the well-known high rate of resistance of B. fragilis group organisms to clindamycin, the emergence of resistance of Peptostreptococcus species isolates to β-lactam drugs has become obvious in Korea.