Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effective treatment of bacterial infections and is a serious problem worldwide. Multidrug-resistant bacteria are difficult to treat and the treatment outcome is worse than with susceptible bacteria. In Korea, the antibiotic resistance rates of the major Gram-positive bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) are very high. Clinicians should know the risk factors for developing multidrug-resistant bacterial infection, update the changing local epidemiology of resistant bacteria, and choose appropriate antibiotics in clinical practice. The overuse and misuse of broad spectrum antibiotics should be avoided. This review focuses on the epidemiology and risk factors of MRSA, VRE, and PRSP, the major multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria.