Antimicrobial susceptibility of vancomycin-resistant Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus species

Eighty-five strains of vancomycin-resistant gram-positive bacteria from three genera, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus, were tested to determine susceptibility to 24 antimicrobial agents by broth microdilution and to 10 agents by disk diffusion. The MICs of vancomycin and teicoplanin ranged from 64 to greater than 512 micrograms/ml; however, the MICs of daptomycin, a new lipopeptide, were all less than or equal to 0.25 micrograms/ml. None of the organisms were resistant to imipenem, minocycline, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, or daptomycin. The MICs of penicillin were in the moderately susceptible range for all but three strains. Susceptibility to the other agents varied by genus and, in some cases, by species. When disk diffusion results were compared with MICs for drugs recommended for streptococci by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards, Villanova, Pa., few very major or major errors were obtained, but the number of minor errors was 19.3%. Therefore, we recommended that MIC testing be used instead of disk diffusion testing for these organisms.