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H A Lopardo

Publications and source records attributed to H A Lopardo.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

[Streptococcus pyogenes: penicillin and erythromycin susceptibility in the cities of Neuquen and Cipolletti].

Penicillin resistance has not yet been detected in Streptococcus pyogenes. However macrolide-resistant streptococci have emerged in several countries. Only low rates of erythromycin-resistant S. pyogenes were reported in Argentina, with the exception of a 11.1% observed in Mendoza. The aim of the present study was to determine the susceptibility to penicillin and to erythromycin of 251 consecutive clinically-significant isolates of S. pyogenes obtained from four centers of Cipolletti and Neuquén during the period April-December 1998. The double disk test with erythromycin and clindamycin disks was employed as a screening method to detect ERY-resistant streptococci and to determine the phenotype of macrolide resistance. Disk diffusion was also employed for determining penicillin susceptibility. Macrolide-resistant isolates were also tested for penicillin, ceftriaxone, erythromycin, clindamycin and azithromycin susceptibility by the agar dilution method. Additionally they were also tested for erythromycin susceptibility by E-test (AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden). All streptococci studied were susceptible to penicillin and thirty of them (12.0%) were resistant to erythromycin. All these resistant isolates were also resistant to azithromycin but susceptible to ceftriaxone and clindamycin. They showed the phenotype M (probably efflux-mediated mechanism) and the MICs of erythromycin ranged between 8 and 16 micrograms/ml. According to these results we conclude that in spite of universal susceptibility to penicillin in S. pyogenes, macrolide resistance is a matter of concern in Neuquén and Cipolletti. At least in those cities it appears to be necessary to routinely perform macrolide susceptibility tests in beta-hemolytic streptococci.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Argentinian collaborative study on prevalence of erythromycin and penicillin susceptibility in Streptococcus pyogenes. The Argentinian Streptococcus Study Group.

Two monthly studies on the prevalence of penicillin and erythromycin susceptibility of Streptococcus pyogenes were performed in May and October of 1994 in Argentina. A total of 58 centers from 27 cities participated in these studies. A total of 1072 isolates were tested by a diffusion method, although 595 isolates were tested both by the diffusion and an agar dilution method (n = 1767 isolates). No penicillin-resistant streptococci were found in our study (MIC100 = 0.03 microgram/ml). Only four isolates were confirmed as erythromycin resistant S. pyogenes (prevalence 0.14 and 0.28% in May and October 1994, respectively). Resistance in three isolates was due to an inducible mechanism, although in one strain a different phenotype was observed.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Isolation of moderately penicillin-susceptible strains of Neisseria meningitidis in Argentina.

Four strains that were moderately susceptible to penicillin and/or ampicillin were found among 54 consecutive isolates of meningococci recovered from patients in one pediatric hospital in Argentina from October 1991 to December 1992. Disk diffusion tests performed with 2 U of penicillin failed to detect one strain. These findings suggest that attention should be paid to changes in the susceptibility patterns of meningococci in order to anticipate therapeutic failures in the future.

Ampicillin↗

Intrahospital spread of a single gentamicin-resistant, beta-lactamase-producing strain of Enterococcus faecalis in Argentina.

Six beta-lactamase-producing (Bla+) isolates of Enterococcus faecalis recovered over a 17-month period from an Argentinian pediatric hospital were found to have identical or almost identical chromosomal restriction patterns by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, although the plasmid patterns were different. These isolates, like Bla+ enterococci in the United States, hybridized to a staphylococcal Bla gene probe. The presence of a single strain was somewhat surprising, since all isolates transferred Bla by conjugation.

Argentina↗

Evidence for clonal spread of a single strain of beta-lactamase-producing Enterococcus (Streptococcus) faecalis to six hospitals in five states.

Beta-lactamase-producing (Bla+) enterococci have been reported in three state and two countries. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used to compare 14 Bla+ Enterococcus (Streptococcus) faecalis isolated from hospitalized patients in seven states and three continents. The restriction endonuclease digestion patterns of isolates from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Lebanon, and Argentina were all markedly different, indicating that these were different strains. However, isolates from Delaware, Texas, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh), Florida, and Virginia were similar, indicating that these isolates were derivatives of a single strain. This conclusion was supported by hybridization using individual fragments as probes. Spread of Bla+ enterococci within the hospital setting was also demonstrated. These findings illustrate the value of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis for epidemiologic analyses and support the importance of identifying and containing organisms with new resistance properties in an effort to decrease their transmission to and from, as well as within, hospitals.

Argentina↗

Penicillin resistance and aminoglycoside-penicillin synergy in enterococci.

Susceptibility to penicillin, vancomycin, imipenem, streptomycin, kanamycin and gentamicin was tested in 130 clinical isolates of Enterococcus spp. by an agar dilution method. Penicillin resistance (MIC > 8 mg/l) was only observed among strains of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus raffinosus. Thirty-nine percent of the penicillin-resistant enterococci showed low-level resistance to at least one of the three aminoglycosides tested (gentamicin, kanamycin and streptomycin). Six Enterococcus strains (5 E. faecium and 1 E. raffinosus) with low-level resistance to gentamicin and different MICs for penicillin were tested for antibiotic synergy using time-killing curves. When penicillin concentrations equal to or higher than the MICs were used, synergism was established, even when highly penicillin-resistant strains (MIC > 200 mg/l) were tested. No synergy was observed when penicillin concentrations were below the MICs.

Aminoglycosides↗

[Fatal mitral valve endocarditis by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae].

A fatal case of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae mitral valve endocarditis is described in a 45 years old male, with a history of chronic alcohol abuse and without animals contact. He presented intermittent fever, polyarthralgia, weight loss, and low back pain. In blood cultures (2 bottles), gram-positive pleomorphic rods grew after 48 hours of incubation. The subculture on blood agar media showed a small, alpha-hemolytic colony, catalase and oxidase negative, PYR and LAP positive and the production of H2S in triple sugar iron agar, was demonstrated. The isolate was initially identified as E. rhusiopathiae, and confirmed by API Coryne (BioMérieux). On the basis of these findings and a transthoracic echocardiogram, an endocarditis was confirmed. Intravenous ampicillin and gentamicin treatment was initiated. The patient became afever, nevertheless he died on day 19 after admission as a consequence of acute pulmonary edema. Susceptibility testing by E-test showed that the microorganism was resistant to vancomycin and gentamicin, and susceptible to penicillin and cefotaxime. We emphasize the importance to consider the isolates of gram-positive pleomorphic rods, catalase and oxidase negative, and the addition of H2S production test in TSI medium. Vancomycin-resistance helps in the identification, and to establish the correct antimicrobial therapy. Although E. rhusiopathiae is usually reported as an occupational pathogen, the contact with pigs and other farm animals may be underestimated.

Alcoholism↗