Clinical implications of antibiotic resistance

Great advances have been made in the last two decades in understanding mechanisms of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria. From the clinician's perspective, the value of this scientific information at the bedside is not always obvious. Its importance can be emphasized by exploring two separate avenues: anecdotal reports illustrating the clinical cases in which one often sees resistance, and reports to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and some relevant findings from the results of a recent multicenter study of Enterobacter bacteremia.