In vitro activities of tigecycline against clinical isolates from Shanghai, China

To evaluate the in vitro activity of tigecycline, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of tigecycline against 1,201 strains of recent clinical isolates from 10 hospitals in Shanghai, China were determined and compared with selected comparators. Results showed that tigecycline had broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. It was highly active against Gram-positive cocci, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus spp., penicillin-intermediate Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium. Tigecycline also had good activity against most strains of Enterobacteriaceae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. However, it was poorly active against Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Tigecycline was highly active against anaerobic Gram-positive cocci such as Peptococcus spp. The in vitro activity of tigecycline was significantly better than that of minocycline and tetracycline. It was as active as or slightly more active than vancomycin and teicoplanin in the activity against resistant aerobic Gram-positive cocci. Tigecycline was bactericidal against all Gram-positive cocci tested except Enterococcus spp. Inoculum size but not pH of medium or concentration of human serum in broth had significant effect on the in vitro activity of tigecycline. Aged media (48-72 hours after preparation) used in the test and specific resistance problem in China may have some effects on MIC values of tigecycline. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.