[Current data on the antibiotic sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae (Pneumococcus). The significance of...

Antibiotic-resistant pneumococci, including strains resistant to penicillin, are being isolated with increasing frequency also in Europe. Therefore, we studied the antibiotic sensitivity to penicillin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, ofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin in 131 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae; most of them were isolated from patients with systemic infections. A reduced susceptibility to penicillin was found in 7.6% (n = 10) of the Streptococcus pneumoniae strains. For the first time in Germany, in the present investigation two pneumococcal strains highly resistant to penicillin were isolated (minimal inhibitory concentration [MIC] values > or = 2 mg/l). These strains exhibited high MIC values against various cephalosporins as well. 10.7% of all pneumococci were resistant to tetracycline, resistance to erythromycin was found in 3.8% of the isolates. The emergence of pneumococci in Germany with reduced susceptibility to penicillin underscores the importance to include alternative drugs in sensitivity testing of pneumococci involved in systemic infections. Depending on the localization of the infection, parenteral third generation cephalosporins, glycopeptides and quinolone derivatives are primarily adequate in the treatment of infections caused by penicillin-resistant pneumococci.