Evaluation of selective and enrichment media for isolation of glycopeptide-resistant enterococci from faecal specimens

Objectives: Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus enrichment broth (VEB) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus selective agar with vancomycin 6 mg/L (VSA) are novel azide-aesculin agar-based media that contain meropenem as an additional selective agent. The media were compared with enterococcosel broth (EB) and enterococcosel agar with vancomycin 6 mg/L (EA) for the isolation of glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (GRE) from routine faecal screening specimens

European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) Technical Notes on antimicrobial susceptibility testing

The main objectives of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) are to harmonise breakpoints for antimicrobial agents in Europe, and to act as the breakpoint committee for the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) during the registration of new antimicrobial agents. Detailed EUCAST procedures for harmonising and setting breakpoints for antimicrobial agents are available on the EUCAST website. Beginning with the current issue, a series of EUCAST Technical Notes will be published in CMI, based on the rationale documents produced by EUCAST for each of the antimicrobial agents studied, with the aim of highlighting important background information underlying decisions on breakpoints made by EUCAST

In vitro antibiotic susceptibility patterns of bacterial keratitis isolates in Oxford, UK: a 10-year review

Purpose To analyse the spectrum of bacterial keratitis isolates and their in vitroantibiotic susceptibilities over a 10-year period in Oxford, UK; and to compare the in vitroefficacy of ciprofloxacin with that of the combination of gentamicin and cefuroxime over the same period. Methods All culture-positive corneal scrapes received from the Oxford Eye Hospital between July 1999 and June 2009 were identified retrospectively using a local microbiology database. For analysis of trends over time, the data was split into two equal 5-year periods. Statistical analysis was done using the χ 2 and Fisher exact tests. Results Over the 10-year study period, 467 corneal scrapes were performed of which 252 (54.0%) had positive bacterial cultures, growing a total of 267 organisms. The most commonly isolated bacteria were Staphylococci(40.1%) followed by Pseudomonasspecies (28.5%), other Gram-negative species (17.2%), Streptococci(7.1%), and Corynebacteria(6.0%). Between the first and second time periods there was an increase in the number of coagulase-negative Staphylococciand an increased resistance of the non-Pseudomonas Gram-negative group to chloramphenicol. Of the 189 isolates tested for sensitivity to both empirical antibiotic regimens, 176 (93.2%) were susceptible to ciprofloxacin whereas 188 (99.5%) were susceptible to either gentamicin or cefuroxime (P=0.0015). Conclusions The spectrum of bacterial keratitis isolates and their in vitroantibiotic sensitivity patterns have generally remained stable over time. The combination of gentamicin and cefuroxime provides a broader spectrum of antimicrobial cover than ciprofloxacin monotherapy in Oxford, although both regimens continue to be appropriate choices for the initial management of this condition