In vitro Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Carbapenems, Including Prepenem, Against Clinical Isolates in Korea / 감염과화학요법

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE:This study was performed to compare the in vitro antimicrobial activities of prepenem (PRPM) with those of imipenem (IMPM) and meropenem (MRPM) against several clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. METHODS: We tested the in vitro antimicrobial activities of PRPM, IMPM, and MRPM against total 300 clinical isolates of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa and 134 chinical isolated of S. pneumoniae (41 penicillin-susceptible, 93 penicillin-resistant strains) collected in 5 different university hospitals (March to June, 2002). According to NCCLS guidelines, MICs of PRPM, IMPM, MRPM, and/or ceftazidime were determined. RESULTS: MIC90s of E. coli to IMPM, PRPM, and MRPM were 1, 1, and 0.125 microgram/mL, respectively. Those of K. pneumoniae were 1, 0.5, and 0.125 microgram/mL, respectively. In case of P. aeruginosa, MIC90s to IMPM, PRPM, MRPM, and ceftazidime were 16, 32, 8, and 64 microgram/mL, respectively. In penicillin-susceptible S. pneumoniae, MIC90s to IMPM, PRPM, MRPM were 0.25, 0.25, 0.5 microgram/mL, while those of penicillin-nonsusceptible strains were 1, 1, and 2 microgram/mL, respectively. IMPM and PRPM showed similar pattern of distribution of MIC to various bacterial species. CONCLUSION: E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and S. pneumonia were susceptible to PRPM, which had a pattern similar to IMPM. The antimicrobial activity of PRPM to P. aeruginosa was also comparable to that of IMPM. PRPM could be potentially useful drugs for treatment of infections caused by E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and S. pneumoniae.