['In vitro' activity of different antimicrobial agents on Gram-negative nonfermentative bacilli, excluding...

Gram-negative nonfermentative bacilli (NFB) are widely spread in the environment. Besides of difficulties for identification, they often have a marked multiresistance to antimicrobial agents, including those active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The objective of this study was to evaluate the 'in vitro' activity of different antimicrobial agents on 177 gram-negative nonfermentative bacilli isolates (excluding Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter spp.) isolated from clinical specimens. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined according to the Mueller Hinton agar dilution method against the following antibacterial agents: ampicillin, piperacillin, piperacillin-tazobactam, sulbactam, cefoperazone, cefoperazone-sulbactam, ceftazidime, cefepime, aztreonam, imipenem, meropenem, colistin, gentamicin, amikacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, rifampin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin and minocycline. Seven isolates: Sphingobacterium multivorum (2), Sphingobacteriumspiritivorum (1), Empedobacterbrevis (1), Weeksella virosa (1), Bergeyella zoohelcum (1) and Oligella urethralis (1), were tested for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ampicillin-sulbactam susceptibility, and susceptibility to cefoperazone or sulbactam was not determined. Multiresistance was generally found in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Burkholderia cepacia, Chryseobacterium spp., Myroides spp., Achromobacter xylosoxidans, and Ochrobactrum anthropi isolates. On the other hand, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Shewanella putrefaciens-algae, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, and Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Bergeyella zoohelcum, Weeksella virosa and Oligella urethralis were widely susceptible to the antibacterial agents tested. As a result of the wide variation in antimicrobial susceptibility shown by different species, a test on susceptibility to different antibacterial agents is essential in order to select an adequate therapy. The marked multiresistance evidenced by some species, prompts the need to develop new antimicrobial agents active against this group of bacteria and to search for synergistic combinations.