Enterococcus spp.: Resistencia antimicrobiana en infecciones intrahospitalarias Enterococcus spp.: Antimicrobial resistance in hospital- acquired infections Enterococcus spp.: Resistência antimicrobiana em infecções intra-hospitalares

Summary One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three Enterococcus spp. isolates belonging to patients undergoing hospital-acquired infections at the University Hospital of Buenos Aires city were studied between the years 1996 and 2010. A total of 64.2% and 30.4% of the isolates were identified as E. faecalis y E. faecium respectively. The infections caused by Enterococcus spp. represented from 8% to 10% of the total number of the nosocomial infections in the period studied. The E. faecium prevalence increased from 1.5% in 1996 to 4% in 2010. The first vancomycin–resistant Enterococcus faecium was detected in the year 1998 and in the year 2004 this resistance was detected in E. faecalis as well. At present, more than 70% of the E. faecium isolates show vancomycin resistance; on the contrary, in the case of E. faecalis, this resistance is unusual. Resistance to linezolid or to tigecycline has not been detected in Enterococcus spp. so far.