[Phenotype characterisation of Enterococcus spp. strains isolated from urocultures]

Our aim is to comparatively study the susceptibility to antibiotics of Enterococcus spp. strains isolated from urocultures of patients admitted in the urology department, as well as from ambulatory patients, and also to establish the resistance phenotypes of these strains.

We studied 33 strains of Enterococcus spp.: 10 isolated from a total of 1889 urocultures from ambulatory patients (of which 431 positive) and 23 isolated from 1871 urocultures from patients admitted in the urology department (of which 462 positive). The antibiotic susceptibility was realised by Kirby-Bauer disk-diffusion tests. Statistical analysis of the antibiograms and determining of the resistance phenotypes were performed with automatic reading methods (Osiris--Bio Rad Laboratories), according to the CLSI/NCCLS standard.

The wild phenotype was present in 60% of the strains isolated from ambulatory patients, and only in 39.13% in patients admitted in the urology department. In the urology department a multiresistant strain was isolated, displaying Van A (VRE) phenotype, to which was added resistance to beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, macrolides, tetracycline and nitrofurans.

In the past decades urinary tract infections with Enterococcus spp., especially the nosocomial ones, have become serious health issues because of the increasing number of cases and the difficulty of treatment of infections caused by multi-resistant strains. In order to limit the spread of these strains, especially VRE strains, in the hospital environment, efficient measures must be instituted for the control of nosocomial infections, accompanied by policies for the rational use of antibiotics.