[Comparison of antimicrobial use density (AUD) of carbapenem antibacterial agents and investigation of the drug susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 3 hospitals in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan].

The optimal use of anti-Pseudomonas agents is an important issue in the prevention of a tolerance against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We evaluated the effect of antimicrobial use density (AUD) of carbapenem on drug susceptibility. The AUD of the four carbapenems, imipenem (IPM/CS), panipenem (PAPM/BP), meropenem (MEPM), and biapenem (BIPM), was examined at three hospitals in Ibaraki Prefecture, between April and September 2004. The AUD was calculated using the Defined Daily Doses (DDD) methodology developed by the WHO. A drug susceptibility test was conducted on the 306 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains randomly collected from clinical specimens at the three hospitals between September and December 2004. In accordance with the standards set by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was measured using the broth microdilution method. The results showed that the AUD of carbapenem at the three hospitals tended to be higher than that in other research results in Japan. At one of the three hospitals, the AUD of the PAPM was remarkably high compared to the other carbapenems. Furthermore, P. aeruginosa strains collected at this hospital showed a low susceptibility to carbapenem, and many highly tolerant strains were also observed in this hospital. In order to maintain the susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to carbapenem, the overall extent of carbapenem use must be optimal. The use of antimicrobial drugs should be controlled properly at each hospital, in order to prevent excessive use of PAPM/BP from being used over a long period of time.