Association between antimicrobial consumption and resistance in Escherichia coli.

During a 9-year study period from 1997 through 2005, the association between antimicrobial resistance rates in Escherichia coli and outpatient antimicrobial consumption was investigated in 20 hospital districts in Finland. A total of 754,293 E. coli isolates, mainly from urine samples, were tested for antimicrobial resistance in 26 clinical microbiology laboratories. The following antimicrobials were studied: ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, trimethoprim, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, pivmecillinam, and nitrofurantoin. We applied a protocol used in earlier studies in which the level of antimicrobial consumption over 1 year was compared with the level of resistance in the next year. Statistically significant associations were found for nitrofurantoin use versus nitrofurantoin resistance (P < 0.0001), cephalosporin use versus nitrofurantoin resistance (P = 0.0293), amoxicillin use versus fluoroquinolone resistance (P = 0.0031), and fluoroquinolone use versus ampicillin resistance (P = 0.0046). Interestingly, we found only a few associations between resistance and antimicrobial consumption. The majority of the associations studied were not significant, including the association between fluoroquinolone use and fluoroquinolone resistance.

Connection between trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole use and resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis.

The association between trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole use and resistance among the major respiratory tract pathogens was investigated by comparing regional consumption of the drug to regional resistance in the following year in 21 central hospital districts in Finland. A total of 23,530 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates, 28,320 Haemophilus influenzae isolates, and 14,138 Moraxella catarrhalis isolates were tested for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole susceptibility during the study period (1998-2004). Among the S. pneumoniae isolates, a statistically significant connection was found between regional consumption and resistance. No statistically significant connection was found between regional trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole use and resistance among H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis isolates. According to our results, it seems that only in pneumococci can the development of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance be influenced by restricting its use. However, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole remains an important antimicrobial agent because of its reasonable price. Hence, resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole among these pathogens needs continuous monitoring.

Macrolide and azithromycin use are linked to increased macrolide resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

The connection between regional rates of antimicrobial resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae and regional antimicrobial use in Finland was investigated. During the 6-year study period of 1997 to 2002, a total of 31,609 S. pneumoniae isolates were tested for penicillin resistance and a total of 23,769 isolates were tested for macrolide resistance in 18 central hospital districts in Finland. The regional macrolide resistance rates were compared with the local use of (i) all macrolides pooled and (ii) azithromycin. The penicillin resistance levels were compared with the consumption data for (i) penicillins, (ii) cephalosporins, (iii) all beta-lactams pooled, and (iv) all macrolides pooled. A statistically significant association between macrolide resistance and total use of macrolides and the use of azithromycin was found. Moreover, total use of beta-lactams and total use of cephalosporins were significantly connected to low-level penicillin resistance. A statistically significant association between penicillin-nonsusceptible isolates and penicillin or total macrolide consumption was not found. In conclusion, total macrolide use and azithromycin use are associated with increased macrolide resistance, and beta-lactam use and cephalosporin use are connected to increased low-level penicillin resistance in S. pneumoniae. Unnecessary prescribing of macrolides and cephalosporins should be avoided.

Effect of macrolide consumption on erythromycin resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes in Finland in 1997-2001.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between regional macrolide resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes and macrolide use in Finland. During 1997-2001, a total of 50,875 S. pyogenes isolates were tested for erythromycin susceptibility in clinical microbiology laboratories throughout Finland. The local erythromycin resistance levels were compared with the regional consumption data of all macrolides pooled and, separately, with the use of azithromycin. The regional resistance rates of 1 year were compared with the regional consumption of the previous year and with the average rates of use for the 2 previous years. A linear mixed model for repeated measures was used in modeling the association. A statistically significant association existed between regional erythromycin resistance in S. pyogenes and consumption of macrolides; association with azithromycin use alone was not found.