Antibiotic resistance and clinical distribution of Enterococci isolated from urine samples of patients with urinary tract infections

Objective To understand the antibiotic resistance and clinical distribution of Enterococci isolated from urine samples of patients with urinary tract infections and provide evidence for the treatment of urinary tract infection caused by Enterococcus. Methods Enterococcus strains were isolated from urine samples of patients with urinary tract infections in our hospital from January 2008 to December 2012. The antibiotic susceptibility test was carried out with Kirby-Bauer (KB) method. Data were analyzed with WHONET 5.6 software and Excel. Results A total of 111 Enterococcus strains were isolated, among which 61 were Enterococcus faecium strains (55.0%), 47 were Enterococcus faecalis strains (42.3%), 3 were other Enterococcus strains (2.7%). The drug susceptibility results showed that the resistance of the Enterococcus strains was serious, the resistant rate to vancomycin was lowest. The resistant rates of E. faecium strains to most antibiotics tested were higher than those of E. faecalise strains except chloramphenicol and tetracycline. Up to 86.5% of the patients with Enterococcus infections in urinary tracts were aged over 50 years, and most of them were hospitalized in urinary surgery department and ICU, accounting for 26.1% and 22.5% respectively. Conclusion Enterococcus has become an important pathogen to cause urinary tract infection, and E. faecium was predominant. The resistance of different Enterococci varied. The surveillance should be strengthened in risk population and antibiotics should be used according to their drug susceptibility.