AMINOGLYCOSIDE RESISTANCE - ENZYMATIC MECHANISMS IN CLINICAL BACTERIAL STRAINS IN SLOVAKIA DURING THE LAST DECADE

We determined the importance and dissemination of enzymatic mechanisms of aminoglycoside resistance in 239 gentamicin-resistant strains of G ram-negative bacilli isolated in Slovakia during the past decade. Over the past 5 years, the resistance to tobramycin has risen by 1.1%, to netilmicin by 27.4%, to amikacin by 78.3%, and resistance to isepamici n was high too (81.9%). Sixteen different aminoglycoside-modifying enz ymes were detected and their significance for resistance to aminoglyco sides was confirmed. It is evident that within the past 5 years gentam icin-resistant bacteria have obtained genetic information on resistanc e to the other aminoglycosides tested and the percentage of strains wi th different enzyme combinations has risen. These observations confirm the continuously increasing complexity of antibiotic resistance in cl inical bacterial isolates under study in Slovakia during the last deca de.