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1: Clin Infect Dis. 1999 May;28(5):1062-6.Click here to read Links
Comment in:
Clin Infect Dis. 1999 May;28(5):1067-70.

Reduction in the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and ceftazidime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae following changes in a hospital antibiotic formulary.

Landman D, Chockalingam M, Quale JM.

Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Brooklyn, and the Division of Infectious Diseases, S.U.N.Y. Health Science Center at Brooklyn, New York 11203, USA.

In 1995, changes in our hospital formulary were made to limit an outbreak of vancomycin-resistant enterococci and resulted in decreased usage of cephalosporins, imipenem, clindamycin, and vancomycin and increased usage of beta-lactam/beta-lactamase-inhibitor antibiotics. In this report, the effect of this formulary change on other resistant pathogens is described. Following the formulary change, there was a reduction in the monthly number (mean +/- SD) of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (from 21.9 +/- 8.1 to 17.2 +/- 7.2 patients/1,000 discharges; P = .03) and ceftazidime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (from 8.6 +/- 4.3 to 5.7 +/- 4.0 patients/1,000 discharges; P = .02). However, there was an increase in the number of patients with cultures positive for cefotaxime-resistant Acinetobacter species (from 2.4 +/- 2.2 to 5.4 +/- 4.0 patients/1,000 discharges; P = .02). Altering an antibiotic formulary may be a possible mechanism to contain the spread of selected resistant pathogens. However, close surveillance is needed to detect the emergence of other resistant pathogens.

PMID: 10452635 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Patient Drug Information

  • Vancomycin (Vancocin® )

    Vancomycin is used to treat colitis (inflammation of the intestine caused by certain bacteria) that may occur after antibiotic treatment. Vancomycin is in a class of medications called glycopeptide antibiotics. It works ...

  • Clindamycin (Cleocin® )

    Clindamycin is used to treat certain types of bacterial infections, including infections of the lungs, skin, blood, female reproductive organs, and internal organs. Clindamycin is in a class of medications called lincomy...

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