Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Enterococci Isolated From Patients in Tehran

Background: Enterococci are one of the most common nosocomial pathogens and the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains has been increasing. Objectives: We studied the antimicrobial susceptibility of enterococci isolated from different clinical specimens of patients in Tehran. Materials and Methods: From the beginning of April 2013 to the end of June 2013, a total of 146 enterococci were isolated from the Pars General Hospital in Tehran. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates against ampicillin, clindamaycin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, levofloxacin, linezolid, nitrofurantoin, tetracycline, and vancomycin was determined using the disk diffusion method according to the guidelines of clinical laboratory standards institute (CLSI). Results: The rates of resistance were high to clindamycin, tetracycline, and erythromycin (97.2%, 89%, and 74.5%, respectively); moderate to ciprofloxacilin and levofloxacilin (40.6% and 36.4%, respectively); and low to ampicillin and nitrofurantoin (13.8% and 3.5%, respectively). All isolates were linezolid sensitive. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) accounted for 9.6% of the isolates. Conclusions: VRE and a high rate of resistance to some of antimicrobial agents were found among the enterococci isolated from patients in Tehran. These findings highlight the importance of regular supervision of antimicrobial susceptibilities.