Mathematical modeling of antimicrobial susceptibility data of Staphylococcus haemolyticus for 11 antimicrobial...

Antimicrobial MIC data were obtained for 96 strains of Staphylococcus haemolyticus and the following 11 antimicrobial agents: methicillin, gentamicin, rifampin, fusidic acid, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, teicoplanin; three experimental glycopeptides, MDL 62,873, MDL 62,208, and MDL 62,224; and an experimental lipoglycopeptide, ramoplanin. Resistance to methicillin and gentamicin was present in over 50% of the strains, although resistance to the other agents was present in less than 10%. It is shown how application of mathematical modeling techniques can add to the understanding of such MIC data. MICs of methicillin and gentamicin were highly correlated, suggesting that evolutionary pressures for development of resistance to these agents were similar. The structural relationships among the glycopeptides were accurately reflected in their spatial relationships within the model. MICs of ramoplanin were negatively correlated with MICs of some other antimicrobial agents, particularly gentamicin, suggesting that this agent is more active against gentamicin-resistant strains. Methicillin-resistant strains were more tightly clustered than were methicillin-susceptible strains, suggesting that methicillin-resistant strains were more closely related to each other than were methicillin-susceptible strains. Mathematical modeling techniques enable more detailed analysis of MIC data.