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Biomedical subjects

S Gatermann

Publications and source records attributed to S Gatermann.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

The microbiological efficacy of the combination of fosfomycin and vancomycin against clinically relevant staphylococci.

Infections with multiresistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis pose severe clinical problems. The drug of choice in such cases, vancomycin, is potentially ototoxic and nephrotoxic and this may give rise to additional problems in the patient. Fosfomycin has been shown to be nephroprotective when given with vancomycin and with other nephrotoxic drugs. We report the inhibitory and bactericidal activity of fosfomycin and vancomycin alone and in combination against 26 clinically relevant strains of S. aureus and 48 strains of S. epidermidis. In most instances these two drugs showed indifferent or additive effects, synergism or antagonism was only rarely observed. Assessment of the bactericidal action of the combination revealed similar effects. The combination of fosfomycin and vancomycin may, therefore, be beneficial in clinical situations where the nephrotoxic effect of vancomycin cannot be tolerated.

Drug Combinations↗

Comparative in vitro activities of amoxicillin-clavulanate, ampicillin-sulbactam and piperacillin-tazobactam against strains of Escherichia coli and proteus mirabilis harbouring known beta-lactamases.

Strains of Escherichia coli (N = 124) and Proteus mirabilis (N = 29) harboring known beta-lactamases were analyzed as to their susceptibility to ampicillin, amoxicillin, and piperacillin alone and in combination with sulbactam, clavulanate, and tazobactam. With TEM 1-producing E. coli, a correlation between specific beta-lactamase activity and the MIC of piperacillin and ampicillin-sulbactam was observed. These strains also showed significant differences in susceptibilities to the various combinations, suggesting that, at least in strains resistant to one combination, several beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations should be tested in the laboratory. All combinations tested enhanced the activity of the beta-lactam towards TEM 1-producing E. coli, piperacillin-tazobactam being the most active. The drugs were less active to OXA 1 enzymes; solely with piperacillin-tazobactam 90% of strains were within the therapeutic range of the drug. Sulbactam acted synergistically to chromosomally encoded beta-lactamases, whereas amoxicillin-clavulanate was inactive. Piperacillin and piperacillin-tazobactam inhibited all strains producing chromosomally encoded beta-lactamases at concentrations within the therapeutic range of the drugs. In contrast, TEM 2 of P. mirabilis was not sensitive to ampicillin-sulbactam, but to the other combinations; here again piperacillin-tazobactam was the most active.

Amoxicillin↗

Plasmid fingerprinting of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated in Hamburg.

By means of restriction endonuclease digests and DNA/hybridisation studies we analysed ten representative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains of our collection for plasmid similarities and plasmid associated resistance determinants. We found that strains isolated at our laboratory contained identical or at least most similar plasmids. Isolates from another geographical origin showed different plasmid patterns. We found resistance determinants for gentamicin to be chromosomally encoded, whereas resistance to heavy metal ions and chloramphenicol was always plasmid associated. Resistance to trimethoprim, tetracycline and erythromycin was usually chromosomally mediated but could also reside on a plasmid. Our results indicate that methicillin-resistant strains from our collection may have a common origin. The clinical relevance of these results is discussed.

DNA, Bacterial↗