[Enterococcal infections and their treatment options]

The study aimed to characterize enterococcal infections at the University Hospital Olomouc and to define antibiotic treatment options.

The data was obtained from the ENVIS LIMS laboratory information system. Between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2019, clinically relevant enterococci in the hospital and their resistance to antibiotics were retrospectively evaluated. Until mid-2016, criteria defined by Facklam and Collins and biochemical properties determined with the Encoccus test were used for identification. Subsequently, all enterococci were identified using the MALDI-TOF MS system. The susceptibility to antibiotics was determined using a standard microdilution method according to the EUCAST criteria.

A total of 8 239 clinically relevant enterococci were isolated over the 5-year period. The most frequently isolated species were Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, which accounted for more than 90% in the period 2017-2019. Enterococci were most frequently isolated from urine (35 %), surgical wounds (17 %) and urethral/vaginal swabs (17 %). Clinically relevant enterococci were most commonly isolated from patients with oncological diagnoses (22%), those with urinary and genital diseases (15%) and respiratory diseases (9%). Enterococcus faecalis strains showed very low resistance to the antibiotics tested. Enterococcus faecium was shown to have 24 % proportion of vancomycin-resistant strains (VRE).

Primary antibiotics suitable for treating infections with the etiological role of Enterococcus faecalis include aminopenicillins, in case of severe infections in combination with aminoglycosides, in particular gentamicin. For Enterococcus faecium strains, glycopeptides must be chosen. To treat VRE, linezolid or tigecycline are indicated.