Antibiotic resistance of uropathogenic strains E. coli may develop

According to data presented at the 2008 Annual Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance, the resistance level of uropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli isolated from students with uncomplicated urinary tract infections with ciprofloxacin has increased 2 times since 1999, although the level of resistance to trimethoprim / sulfamethoxazole has hardly changed.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections and are usually caused by E. coli. As a rule, with UTI, antibiotic therapy is prescribed empirically without carrying out a urine culture study; therefore, regular monitoring of the antibiotic resistance profile of community UTI pathogens is very important because of the need for an adequate choice of antibiotics.

Between September 2005 and June 2007, E. strains were collected. coli and the determination of their sensitivity to antibiotics in women with uncomplicated cystitis who participated in this study. To determine the sensitivity, an automated Vitek 2 analyzer (bioMerieux Inc.) was used.

During 2005-2006, 63 isolates were isolated and their sensitivity to 18 antimicrobial agents and 139 strains was determined in 2006-2007.

Resistance to more than one antibiotic was observed in 37% of the strains; 27% of the isolates were resistant to more than 2 drugs and 17% were resistant to more than 3 antibiotics. Resistance to amoxicillin was 32%, tetracycline 19%, cotrimoxazole 17%, piperacillin 11%, cefazolin and ciprofloxacin 3%, gentamicin, levofloxacin and amoxicillin / clavulanate 2%. In general, resistance levels were comparable between the two study periods, but resistance to cotrimoxazole was higher in the first year of the study than in the second (22% vs 14%).

Based on the data obtained, the authors conclude that the level of resistance to cotrimoxazole has remained practically unchanged since 1999 (15.8%), however, resistance to ciprofloxacin has doubled over the same period. Despite the fact that resistance to ciprofloxacin is still at a low level, a 2-fold increase in this indicator is alarming.

The study authors emphasize the need to operate with modern data on the antibiotic resistance profile of the main pathogens when appointing empirical antibiotic therapy for urinary tract infections and for any other infectious disease. In the event that these data are not available to the physician, a urinalysis should be performed and the susceptibility of the pathogen to antibiotics should be determined.