European glycopeptide susceptibility survey of gram-positive bacteria for 1995

In the European Glycopeptide Susceptibility Survey 7078 Gram-positive isolates collected in 1995 from 70 centers in 9 countries of Western Europe were examined, using a standardized, quantitative susceptibility testing method. Of the 7078 isolates, 6824 (96.4%) were tested by the national coordinating centers. Teicoplanin (mode MIC 0.5 mu g/mL) was generally twice as active as vancomycin (mode MIC 1 mu g/mL) against Staphylococcus aureus (n = 2852). All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin (MIC less than or equal to 4 mu g/mL) and all but four to teicoplanin (MIC less than or equal to 8 mu g/mL); these four isolates were of intermediate susceptibility (MIC 16 mu g/mL). With coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 1444), the distribution of MIC of teicoplanin was wider than for vancomycin. Two and two-tenths percent of coagulase-negative staphylococci excluding Staphylococcus haemolyticus required 16 mu g/mL teicoplanin for inhibition (intermediate) and 0.4% greater than or equal to 32 mu g/mL (resistant). Among isolates of S. haemolyticus, 4.4% were of intermediate susceptibility (MIC 16 mu g/mL) and 3.3% were resistant (MIC greater than or equal to 32 mu g/mL) to teicoplanin. However, this species represented only 6.3% of the isolates of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. Generally, teicoplanin (mode MIC less than or equal to 0.12 mu g/mL) was four to eight times more active than vancomycin (mode MIC less than or equal to 0.5 mu g/mL) against the 770 streptococcal isolates. Glycopeptide-susceptible Enterococcus spp. (n = 1695) were generally four times more susceptible to teicoplanin (mode MIC 0.25 mu g/mL) than to vancomycin (mode MIC 1 mu g/mL). Combined vancomycin and teicoplanin (VanA phenotype resistance was observed more frequently (9.3%) in isolates of Enterococcus faecium than in Enterococcus faecalis (0.8%). Four isolates of unspeciated enterococci (1.4%) also expressed this resistance phenotype. Four isolates of E. faecium and four of E. faecalis Expressed the VanB-type (low-level, vancomycin only) resistance. Spain was the only country not to submit resistant E. faecium strains while resistant E. faecalis isolates came only from Spain and Italy. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.