Epidemiology of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant community-acquired Enterobacteria isolated from elderly patients.

Abstract Aims This survey was made to study the epidemiology of multiresistant bacteria (MRB) in the French community, among elderly patients 65 years of age or more, carrying third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC-resistant) Enterobacteriaceae, and the co-resistance of prescribed antibiotics. Methods The data was collected in 2009 in the West of France by MedQual, a network of 174 private laboratories. Results Two thousand one hundred and sixty strains of the 88,255 identified Enterobacteria strains were 3GC-resistant (2.4%) and 945 of these strains (41.8%) were isolated from elderly patients 65 years of age or more. Escherichia coli was the predominant 3GC-resistant strain (72.7%). 51.4% of the 945 patients in whom a 3GC-resistant strain was isolated produced an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). The main risk factors for infection with the 3GC-resistant strain were hospitalization and antibiotic treatment in the previous year (58.2 and 86.9%, respectively). Hospitalization during the previous year was more frequent among elderly patients who lived at home compared with those who lived in nursing homes ( P versus 49.7%). Conclusion Microbiologists should warn family physicians about MRB isolates with a specific antimicrobial resistance pattern (3GC-resistant, fluoroquinolone-resistant, etc.) to prescribe more effective medications.