OBJECTIVES Determination of bacterial antimicrobial susceptibility is usually performed using phenotypic methods. In this study, we developed a universal 16S rRNA and rpoB quantitative PCR assay for susceptibility testing of bacteria commonly isolated in clinical microbiology laboratories. METHODS Antibiotic susceptibilities for 24 bacterial strains of various species were tested by real-time...

A total of 236 enterococci from hospitalized patients were identified to the species level, and their susceptibilities to 11 antibiotics were determined. Overall, 195 (82.6%) and 38 (16.1%) isolates were identified as Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium, respectively, but the species distribution as determined from blood culture isolates differed markedly. A total of 27 (63.2%) E. faecium isol...

INTRODUCTION Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobcter spp. are important nosocomial pathogens and carbapenem resistance is an emerging threat. Therapeutic options for infections with these isolates include colistin. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of carbapenem resistance in P. aeruginosa and Acinetobacter spp. bloodstream isolates, phenotypically characterize the resistance...