Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2002) 50, 7-11
© 2002 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
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Antibacterial activity of oral antibiotics against community-acquired respiratory pathogens from three European countries
1 Institute of Microbiology, Medical School, University of Genoa, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy 2 Department of Infection and Chemotherapy, University Clinic of Internal Medicine, Währinger Gürtel 18–20, 1090 Vienna, Austria 3 Microbiology Service, Faculty of Medicine, University Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is universally recognized as a major problem. A European resistance survey was established to monitor the activity of widely used oral antibiotics against common respiratory tract pathogens. Studies were conducted in Italy, Spain and Austria to monitor resistance patterns among respiratory Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae to amoxicillin, co-amoxiclav, penicillin, cefaclor, cefadroxil, cefalexin, cefprozil, cefuroxime, cefixime, ceftibuten, cefpodoxime, clarithromycin and azithromycin (the antibiotics tested varying slightly from country to country). Minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined using the NCCLS-recommended broth microdilution method. Among the antibiotics tested, cefpodoxime, an oral cephalosporin, was remarkably active against the major respiratory pathogens in all three countries. Cefpodoxime was more potent than cefaclor, cefixime and ceftibuten against pneumococci, especially against strains with decreased sensitivity to penicillin, and more active than cefaclor and cefuroxime against Gram-negative respiratory pathogens. Pneumococci and staphylococci displayed a very high level of in vitro macrolide resistance. These data indicate that cefpodoxime represents an appropriate choice in the treatment of community-acquired respiratory tract infection in the three countries surveyed.
Footnotes
* Corresponding author: E-mail: schitogc{at}aleph.it
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