This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Visalli, M. A. Articles by Appelbaum, P. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Visalli, M. A. Articles by Appelbaum, P. C.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 09 1997, 1867-1870, Vol 41, No. 9
Copyright © 1997 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Susceptibility of penicillin-susceptible and -resistant pneumococci to dirithromycin compared with susceptibilities to erythromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, roxithromycin, and clindamycin

MA Visalli, MR Jacobs and PC Appelbaum
Department of Pathology (Clinical Microbiology), Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania 17033, USA.

Agar dilution with incubation in air and CO2 was used to determine the MICs of erythromycin, dirithromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, roxithromycin, and clindamycin for 79 penicillin-susceptible, 72 penicillin-intermediate, and 74 penicillin-resistant pneumococci (158 erythromycin-susceptible and 67 erythromycin-resistant pneumococci). MICs obtained in air were usually 1 to 3 dilutions lower than those obtained in CO2. In air, the respective MICs at which 50% (MIC50s) and 90% (MIC90s) of penicillin-susceptible, -intermediate, and -resistant strains are inhibited were as follows: erythromycin, 0.016 and 0.5, 0.03 and > 64, and 2 and > 64 microg/ml; dirithromycin, 0.03 and 0.5, 0.06 and > 64, and 8 and > 64 microg/ml; azithromycin, 0.03 and 0.5, 0.06 and > 64, and 2 and > 64 microg/ml; clarithromycin, 0.016 and 0.06, 0.03 and > 64, and 2 and > 64 microg/ml; roxithromycin, 0.06 and 2, 0.06 and > 64, and 2 and > 64 microg/ml; and clindamycin, 0.03 and 0.06, 0.06 and > 64, and 0.06 and > 64 microg/ml. The MICs of erythromycin, azithromycin, and dirithromycin were very similar; however, clarithromycin MICs were generally 1 to 2 dilutions lower and roxithromycin MICs were 1 to 2 dilutions higher than those of the other compounds tested. Strains resistant to one macrolide were resistant to all macrolides; however, not all macrolide-resistant strains were resistant to clindamycin, and 32 macrolide-resistant (MICs, > or = 28 microg/ml), clindamycin-susceptible (MICs, < or = 0.25 microg/ml) strains were encountered. Time-kill testing of six strains showed similar killing kinetics for all compounds, with 99.9% killing of all strains observed with the compounds only at or above the MIC after 24 h.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Batard, E., Juvin, M. E., Jacqueline, C., Bugnon, D., Caillon, J., Potel, G., Drugeon, H. B. (2005). Influence of Carbon Dioxide on the MIC of Telithromycin for Streptococcus pneumoniae: an In Vitro-In Vivo Study. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49: 464-466 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Feldman, R. B., Rhew, D. C., Wong, J. Y., Charles, R. A., Goetz, M. B. (2003). Azithromycin Monotherapy for Patients Hospitalized With Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A 31/2-Year Experience From a Veterans Affairs Hospital. Arch Intern Med 163: 1718-1726 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Syrogiannopoulos, G. A., Grivea, I. N., Tait-Kamradt, A., Katopodis, G. D., Beratis, N. G., Sutcliffe, J., Appelbaum, P. C., Davies, T. A. (2001). Identification of an erm(A) Erythromycin Resistance Methylase Gene in Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolated in Greece. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 45: 342-344 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Davies, T. A., Kelly, L. M., Jacobs, M. R., Appelbaum, P. C. (2000). Antipneumococcal Activity of Telithromycin by Agar Dilution, Microdilution, E Test, and Disk Diffusion Methodologies. J. Clin. Microbiol. 38: 1444-1448 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Verhaegen, J., Verbist, L. (1999). In-vitro activities of 16 non-{beta}-lactam antibiotics against penicillin-susceptible and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Antimicrob Chemother 43: 563-567 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Clark, C. L., Jacobs, M. R., Appelbaum, P. C. (1998). Antipneumococcal Activities of Levofloxacin and Clarithromycin as Determined by Agar Dilution, Microdilution, E-Test, and Disk Diffusion Methodologies. J. Clin. Microbiol. 36: 3579-3584 [Abstract] [Full Text]