Antimicrobial resistance in organisms isolated at the University Hospital of the West Indies during 1975

The results of standardized disc-sensitivity testing for common bacterial pathogens isolated from clinical specimens at the University Hospital of the West Indies during 1975 are reported. Antibiotic resistance and multiple resistance is now common, multiple resistance occurring in 54 percent of Gram negative isolates and 37 percent of Gram positives. Seventy-nine per cent isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were resistant to penicillin but only 7 percent were resistant to methicilin. Sixty-three per cent of both Gram negative and Gram positive isolates showed resistance to ampicillin but most organisms remained sensitive to cotrimoxazole. Although S. typhi remained fully sensitive to the commonly-used antibiotics, other Salmonellae showed resistance to both ampicillin and chloraphenicol in 52 percent of isolates. Isolates of Shigellae, however, showed surprisingly little antibiotic resistance. Cotrimoxazole remains an effective agent against most of the multiple-resistant organisms except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is suggested that the restriction of the use of chloramphenicol might preserve its effectiveness for serious infections, such as typhoid fever (AU)