ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF SEVEN ORAL ANTIBIOTICS AGAINST SELECTED COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED AND HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED PATHOGENS

The in vitro activity of seven oral antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, cephalexin, cefaclor, cefadroxil, cefuroxime, cefixime, and amoxicillin/clavulanate) was tested against 355 hospital-acquired pathogens and 342 community-acquired organisms. Whereas Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the most common pathogens isolated in community-acquired infections, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas were isolated most frequently in hospital-acquired infections. All antibiotics with the exception of cefixime were active against the methicillin-susceptible staphylococci. Ciprofloxacin was the most active antibiotic against the members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas. The community-acquired organisms tended to be more susceptible to antibiotics than the hospital-acquired organisms. Thus selection of oral antibiotics for the management of patients with hospital-acquired infections should be based on knowledge of the susceptibility patterns of hospital isolates.