Salmonella susceptibility patterns in hospitals from 1975 through 1984

The susceptibility of salmonella to commonly used antibiotics was analyzed for the 10-year period 1975 through 1984. The susceptibilities of 19,200 strains isolated from a yearly average of 211 hospitals nationwide and 1,508 strains isolated at the Kings County Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., were described. Nationally, the susceptibility to nine antibacterial agents, including tetracycline, did not change markedly for the decade. The slight increase in susceptibility to tetracycline observed nationally may reflect the decreased clinical use of this antibiotic during the decade studied.