Antimicrobial activity of broad-spectrum agents tested against Gramnegative bacilli resistant to ceftazidime: report from the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program (North America, 2001)

To assess the effect of ceftazidime resistance on the activity of other antimicrobial agents, 4,175 Gram-negative bacilli isolates, designated as ceftazidime-susceptible (3,759, 90%) or -resistant (416, 10%) were tested against a panel of nine agents. Cefepime was the most active of the agents tested, against both ceftazidime-susceptible and -resistant isolates, with a particularly low incidence (0.3%, 10/3152 isolates) of resistance among the Enterobacteriaceae. Tobramycin had the best activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and ticarcillin/ clavulanate was the least active of the tested agents. This study confirms the need for constant monitoring of in vitro antimicrobial efficacy to direct empiric treatment regimens. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.