Objectives: To find out if there are penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and the resistance rate in China.
Methods: 989 pediatric patients with respiratory tract infections aged from 6 months to 3 years from two pediatric units were enrolled. Perthroat swabs were immediately streaked onto blood agar plates and incubated overnight. Pneumococci were identified and isolated. Antibiotic susceptibility was assessed by the disk diffusion method and MIC determination according to Protocol and NCCLS.
Results: Of the 51 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates, 5 strains had zones > or = 20 mm. Two of the 5 strains had penicillin MICs > or = 0.1 mg/L (2 and 4 mg/L) and considered to be fully resistant to penicillin(4%). The resistance rate to ceftriaxone and cefotaxime was 0 and 4% respectively. For the other 10 antimicrobial agents, the resistance rates were as follows: ampicillin 12%, piperacillin 26%, furbenicillin 14%, cefuroxime 6%, erythromycin 54%, clarithromycin 52%, meleumycin 64%, roxithromycin 52%, chloramphenicol 32%, and tetracycline 100%.
Conclusions: The study suggested that penicillin resistant Streptococcus Pneumoniae strains also exist, and the cross-resistance is a significant phenomenon in China.