Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2001) 47, 211-214
© 2001 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Brief report |
Individual use of antibiotics and prevalence of ß-lactamase production among bacterial pathogens from middle ear fluid
a The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus C; b The Medical Research Unit, Ringkjøbing County; c The Clinical Epidemiological Research Unit, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg; d The Department of Medicine V, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus C; e The Department of Clinical Microbiology, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
Prescription data and clinical laboratory data were analysed to assess the influence of previous antibiotic therapy on the prevalence of ß-lactamase in isolates of Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis from primary specimens of middle ear fluid from 2129 children aged 05 years. The prevalence of ß-lactamase-positive H. influenzae was 6.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.59.8%] in children who received antibiotics 590 days before isolation of the organism compared with 7.0% (95% CI: 3.910.2%) in those who did not. The prevalence of ß-lactamase-positive M. catarrhalis was 90.9% (95% CI: 84.097.8%) in children who received antibiotics compared with 86.7% (95% CI: 79.094.4%) in those who did not.
* Correspondence address. The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, University of Aarhus, Vennelyst Boulevard 6, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Tel: +45-8942-6111; Fax: +45-8613-1580; E-mail: nthrane{at}dadlnet.dk