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A total of 8176 Danish Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from cases of bacteraemia during the years 1963 to 1987 were investigated for resistance to fusidic acid. During the whole period 1% of the strains or less were resistant (MIC of 2 mg/l or more). The total Danish consumption of fusidic acid during the same period increased from 0.008 to 0.029 defined daily doses/1000 inhabitants/day. The resistant strains were mainly sporadic isolates with the phage-types and antibiotic-resistance patterns predominant in Denmark at the time of their isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A survey of Staphylococcus aureus lung infection in 243 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) was conducted between 1986 and 1988. A total of 217 patients (89%) received 1605 courses of anti-staphylococcal therapy given during this period. The majority of courses comprised combined therapy with two anti-staphylococcal drugs. The combination of dicloxacillin and fusidic acid was employed most frequently. Some patients were given other anti-staphylococcal regimens, because of penicillin allergy (14 cases) or dyspeptic side effects with fusidic acid (21 patients). A small but significant increase in precipitins against S. aureus was observed during the study period. Bacterial resistance to the anti-staphylococcal drugs used remained at a low level (strains resistant to methicillin < 0.1%, strains resistant to fusidic acid 1.2%). When the isolates were compared with 56,140 strains of S. aureus isolated from non-CF patients hospitalized in Denmark over the same period, no differences in phage-types or in antibiotic resistance were seen, indicating that selection of strains and cross infection do not seem to be a major problem in CF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A number of β-lactamase screening methods for the detection of β-lactamases in staphylococci, haemophilus or gonococci were applied to 60 Gram-negative rods belonging to different genera and species, and the results were compared with those obtained by the iodometric assay. Two of the screening methods appeared to be useful for indication of constitutive β-lactamase production, one indicating primarily the breakdown of penicillins, the other the break down of cephalosporins. We suggest that these tests should be used as supplement to the ordinary sensitivity testing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]